Italian artists of the 17th century. painting of italy

Moscow State Regional University

Art History Essay

Italian art of the 17th century.

Performed:

correspondence student

33 groups of the Faculty of Fine Arts and HP

Minakova Evgenia Yurievna.

Checked:

Moscow 2009

Italy in the 17th century

· Architecture. Baroque style in architecture.

· Architecture. early baroque.

· Architecture. High, or mature, baroque.

· Architecture. Baroque architecture outside of Rome.

· Art. General characteristics.

· Art. early baroque.

· Art. Realistic flow.

· Art. The second generation of artists of the Bologna school.

· Art. High, or mature, baroque.

· Art. Late baroque.

Already from the middle of the 16th century, the historical development of Italy was characterized by the advance and victory of feudal Catholic reaction. Economically weak, fragmented into separate independent states, Italy is unable to withstand the onslaught of more powerful countries - France and Spain. The long struggle of these states for dominance in Italy ended with the victory of Spain, secured by a peace treaty in Cato Cambresi (1559). Since that time, the fate of Italy is closely connected with Spain. With the exception of Venice, Genoa, Piedmont, and the Papal States, Italy for almost two centuries was in fact a Spanish province. Spain involved Italy in devastating wars, which often took place on the territory of Italian states, contributed to the spread and strengthening of feudal reaction in Italy, both in the economy and in cultural life.

The dominant position in the public life of Italy was occupied by the aristocracy and the higher Catholic clergy. In the conditions of the deep economic decline of the country, only large secular and church feudal lords still had significant material wealth. The Italian people - peasants and townspeople - were in an extremely difficult situation, were doomed to poverty and even extinction. Protest against feudal and foreign oppression finds expression in numerous popular uprisings that broke out throughout the 17th century and sometimes assumed formidable proportions, such as the uprising of Masaniello in Naples.

The general character of the culture and art of Italy in the 17th century was due to all the features of its historical development. It is in Italy that the art of the Baroque originates and receives the greatest development. However, being dominant in the Italian art of the 17th century, this direction was not the only one. In addition to it and in parallel with it, realistic movements are developing, associated with the ideology of the democratic strata of Italian society and receiving significant development in many art centers in Italy.

The monumental architecture of Italy in the 17th century satisfied almost exclusively the needs of the Catholic Church and the highest secular aristocracy. During this period, mainly church buildings, palaces and villas were built.

The difficult economic situation in Italy made it impossible to build very large structures. At the same time, the church and the highest aristocracy needed to strengthen their prestige, their influence. Hence - the desire for unusual, extravagant, ceremonial and sharp architectural solutions, the desire for increased decorativeness and sonority of forms.

The construction of imposing, although not so large structures contributed to the creation of the illusion of the social and political well-being of the state.

Baroque reaches its greatest tension and expression in religious, church buildings; its architectural forms perfectly corresponded to the religious principles and ritual side of militant Catholicism. By building numerous churches, the Catholic Church sought to strengthen and strengthen its prestige and influence in the country.

The Baroque style developed in the architecture of that time is characterized, on the one hand, by the desire for monumentality, and, on the other hand, by the predominance of the decorative and pictorial beginning over the tectonic.

Like works of fine art, baroque architectural monuments (especially church buildings) were designed to enhance the emotional impact on the viewer. The rational principle, which underlay the art and architecture of the Renaissance, gave way to the irrational principle, static, calm - to dynamics, tension.

Baroque is a style of contrasts and uneven distribution of compositional elements. Of particular importance in it are large and juicy curvilinear, arched forms. Baroque structures are characterized by frontality, façade construction. Buildings are perceived in many cases from one side - from the side of the main facade, often obscuring the volume of the structure.

Baroque pays great attention to architectural ensembles - urban and park, but the ensembles of this time are based on other principles than the ensembles of the Renaissance. Baroque ensembles in Italy are built on decorative principles. They are characterized by isolation, comparative independence from the general system of planning the urban area. An example is the largest ensemble of Rome - the square in front of the Cathedral of St. Peter.

The colonnades and decorative walls that closed the space in front of the entrance to the cathedral covered the disorderly, random buildings behind them. There is no connection between the square and the complex network of lanes and random houses adjoining it. Separate buildings that are part of the Baroque ensembles, as it were, lose their independence, completely submitting to the general compositional design.

Baroque posed the problem of art synthesis in a new way. Sculpture and painting, which played a very important role in the buildings of that time, intertwined with each other and often obscured or illusoryly deformed architectural forms, contributed to the creation of that impression of richness, splendor and splendor that Baroque monuments invariably produce.

Of great importance for the formation of a new style was the work of Michelangelo. In his works, he developed a number of forms and techniques that were later used in Baroque architecture. The architect Vignola can also be described as one of the immediate forerunners of the Baroque; in his works one can note a number of early signs of this style.

A new style - the Baroque style in Italian architecture - replaces the Renaissance in the 80s of the 16th century and develops throughout the 17th and the first half of the 18th century.

Conventionally, within the architecture of this time, three stages can be distinguished: early baroque - from the 1580s to the end of the 1620s, high, or mature, baroque - until the end of the 17th century and later - the first half of the 18th century.

The architects Giacomo della Porta and Domenico Fontana are considered to be the first Baroque masters. They belonged to the next generation in relation to Vignola, Alessi, Ammanati, Vasari and ended their activity at the beginning of the 17th century. At the same time, as noted earlier, the traditions of the late Renaissance continued to live in the work of these masters.

Giacomo della Porta. Giacomo della Porta (1541-1608) was a student of Vignola. Its earliest construction - the church of Site Katarina in Funari (1564) - belongs to the Renaissance in its style. However, the facade of the church del Gesu, which this architect completed after the death of Vignola (since 1573), is much more baroque than the original project of his teacher. The facade of this church with a characteristic division into two tiers and side volutes, the plan of construction was a model for a number of Catholic churches in Italy and other countries. Giacomo della Porta completed after the death of Michelangelo the construction of the large dome of the Cathedral of St. Peter. This master was also the author of the famous villa Aldobrandini in Frascati near Rome (1598-1603). As usual, the main building of the villa is located on the side of the mountain; a double-sided rounding ramp leads to the main entrance. On the opposite side of the building adjoins the garden. At the foot of the mountain there is a semicircular grotto with arches, above it there is a water cascade framed by stairs. The building itself is of a very simple prismatic form, completed by a huge torn pediment.

In the composition of the villa, in the park structures that make it up and in the nature of the plastic details, the desire for deliberate beauty, the refinement of architecture, so characteristic of the Baroque in Italy, is clearly manifested.

At the time under consideration, the system of the Italian park is finally taking shape. It is characterized by the presence of a single axis of the park, located on the slope of the mountain with numerous slopes and terraces. The main building is located on the same axis. A typical example of such a complex is Villa Aldobrandini.

Domenico Fontana. Another major architect of the early Baroque was Domenico Fontana (1543-1607), who was one of the Roman successors of Michelangelo and Vignola. His most important work is the Lateran Palace in Rome. The palace, in the form that Fontana gave it, is an almost regular square with a square courtyard enclosed inside. The facade solution of the palace is completely based on the architecture of the Palazzo Farnese - Antonio Sangallo the Younger. In general, the palace construction of Italy in the 17th century is based on the further development of the compositional type of the palace-palazzo, which was developed by the architecture of the Renaissance.

Together with his brother Giovanni Fontana, Domenico built in Rome in 1585-1590 the Aqua Paolo fountain (without the attic, later made by Carlo Maderna). Its architecture is based on the reworking of antique triumphal arches.

Carlo Maderna. The student and nephew of Domenico Fontana - Carlo Maderna (1556-1629) finally strengthened the new style. His work is transitional to the period of developed baroque.

Maderno's early work is the façade of the early Christian basilica of Susanna in Rome (c. 1601). Created on the basis of the scheme of the facade of the Church of the Gesù, the facade of the Church of Susanna is clearly divided into orders, decorated with statues in niches and numerous ornamental decorations.

In 1604, Maderna was appointed chief architect of the Cathedral of St. Peter. By order of Pope Paul V, Maderna drew up a project for expanding the cathedral by adding a front, entrance part. The clergy insisted on lengthening the Greek cross to the Latin form, which was in line with the tradition of church architecture. In addition, the dimensions of the Michelangelo Cathedral did not fully cover the place where the ancient basilica was located, which was unacceptable from the point of view of the ministers of the church.

As a result, when building a new front facade of the cathedral, Maderna completely changed the original plan of Michelangelo. The latter conceived the cathedral as standing in the center of a large square, which would allow one to walk around the building and see it from all sides. Maderna, with his extension, closed the sides of the cathedral from the viewer: the width of the facade exceeds the width of the longitudinal part of the temple. The lengthening of the building led to the fact that the dome of the Cathedral of St. Petra is perceived completely only at a very great distance, as he approaches the building, he gradually disappears behind the facade wall.

The second period of baroque architecture - the period of maturity and flourishing of style - is associated with the work of major masters: L. Bernini, F. Borromini, C. Rainaldi - in Rome, B. Longhena - in Venice, F. Ricchini - in Milan, Guarino Guarini - in Turin.

Lorenzo Bernini. The central figure of the mature Baroque is Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680). He was not only an architect, but also the largest sculptor of the 17th century in Italy.

Since 1629, Bernini, after the death of Maderna, continued the construction of the Cathedral of St. Peter. In 1633, he built a large bronze canopy in the cathedral above the main dome, supported by four twisted, essentially deconstructive columns. According to tradition, this canopy is conventionally considered the first work of the mature Baroque. Bernini's interior decoration of the cathedral was suggested to him by Michelangelo's project. This decoration is a wonderful example of the baroque church interior.

The largest architectural work of Bernini was the design of the square in front of the Cathedral of St. Peter (1655-1667). The architect created two squares - a large elliptical one, framed by columns, and a trapezoid-shaped square directly adjacent to it, bounded on the opposite side by the main facade of the cathedral. An obelisk and two symmetrically located fountains were installed within the oval square.

Bernini continued and developed Maderna's idea: the colonnades make it impossible to approach the cathedral from the sides. Only the main facade remains accessible to the viewer.

The majestic architecture of Piazza Bernini was a worthy backdrop for the ceremony of the congress of the nobility for the solemn service, which took place in the cathedral. In the 17th and 18th centuries, this congress was a magnificent and solemn spectacle. Square of the Cathedral of St. Petra is the largest Italian-Baroque ensemble.

In the Vatican, Bernini created the front Royal Staircase - “Scala Reggia” (“Rock of the Site”), in which he used the technique of artificially strengthening the perspective reduction. Due to the gradual narrowing of the march and the reduction of the columns, the impression of a greater depth of the room and an increase in the size of the staircase itself is created.

Among the most characteristic works of Bernini is the small church of San Andrea in Quirinale (1678), the main facade of which has the form of a portal with pilasters and a triangular pediment. This portal is, as it were, mechanically attached to the main volume of the building, which is oval in plan.

The main work of Bernini in the field of civil architecture is the Palazzo Odescalchi in Rome (1665), decided according to the usual Renaissance scheme. The compositional center of the building is, as usual, the courtyard, bounded on the first floor by arcades. The distribution of windows on the facades and their decorative decoration also resembles a 16th-century palazzo. Only the central part of the main façade was designed in a new way: the two upper floors are covered by a large order in the form of Corinthian pilasters, the first floor in relation to this order plays the role of a pedestal. Such a breakdown of the facade wall will later, in the architecture of classicism, become widespread.

Bernini also continued the construction of the Palazzo Barberini begun by Maderna. The structure does not have a closed courtyard, common for Italian palaces. The main building is bounded on both sides by outbuildings protruding forward. The central part of the main façade is perceived as an appliqué superimposed, for decorative purposes, on the surface of the wall. The central risalit has very wide and high arched windows, with semi-columns placed between them; on the first floor there is a deep loggia. All this sharply distinguishes the central part of the facade from the more massive side parts, decorated in the traditions of 16th century architecture. A similar technique was also very widespread in Italian baroque architecture.

Of interest is the oval staircase of the Palazzo Barberini with spiral marches supported by double Tuscan columns.

Francesca Borromsh. No less important for the Italian Baroque is the work of Francesco Borromini (1599-1667), an employee of Bernini, and later his rival and enemy. The works of Borromini are particularly pompous and "dynamic" forms. Borromini brought the Baroque style to its maximum intensity.

The main work of Borromini in the field of temple architecture is the church of San Carlo "at the four fountains" (1638-1667). Its facade is perceived as an independent architectural composition, independent of the building. It is given curving, wavy forms. Within this façade, one can see the whole arsenal of baroque forms - torn arcuate cornices, oval cartouches and other decorative details. The church itself has a complex shape in plan, resembling two bells stacked together with their bases. The ceiling is an oval dome. As in many other buildings of that time, the composition of the church is based on the contrast of external and internal architectural volumes, on the unexpectedness of the effect that occurs when entering the building.

One of the most significant works of the architect is the Roman church of San Ivo, included in the building of the Sapiencia (university, 1642-1660). It should be noted the complex outlines of the plan of the church and the complete discrepancy between the outer and inner shells of the dome. From the outside, one gets the impression of a high drum and a flat dome covering this drum. Entering inside, you are convinced that the fifth parts of the dome cover are located directly at the base of the drum.

Borromini designed the Villa Falconieri in Frascati. In addition, he rebuilt the Palazzo Spada and worked before Bernini on the Palazzo Barberini (see above).

Carlo Reinaldi. Carlo Rainaldi (1611-1691) is one of the main builders of the heyday of the Baroque. The most important works of Rainaldi are the churches of San Agnese and Site Maria in Campitelli.

The church of San Agnese (begun in 1651) is located on the axis of Piazza Navona, which has preserved the outlines of the ancient circus of Domitian that was located here earlier. The square is decorated with Bernini's Baroque fountains typical of this time. The church has a centric plan and is completed with a large dome; its arcuate, concave façade is bounded on both sides by bell towers. Unlike most Roman churches of that time, the dome is not hidden by the plane of the facade, but acts as the main compositional center of the entire area.

The church of Site Maria in Campitelli was built later, in 1665-1675. Its two-tiered facade, designed according to the system of the church del Gesu, and the interior design are a typical example of mature baroque architecture.

Rainaldi also owns the rear facade of the Roman church of Santa Maria Maggiore (1673).

In the 17th century, Roman architecture was enriched by several new villas located in the vicinity of the city. In addition to the Villa Doria Pamphili, built by the architects Algardi and Grimaldi (c. 1620), among others, Villa Mandragone and Villa Torlonia were created - both are located in Frascati, as well as Villa d "Este in Tivoli. These ceremonial estates are beautiful swimming pools, rows of cypresses, evergreen shrubs, variously decorated terraces with balustrades, grottoes, numerous sculptures... Refinement and splendor of decorative decoration were often combined with elements of wildlife introduced into the artificially created landscape.

Baroque outside Rome brought forward a number of major architects. Bartolomeo Bianco worked in Genoa in the 17th century. His main work is the building of the University of Genoa (since 1623) with a wonderful courtyard bounded by two-story arcades and beautiful staircases adjoining them. Due to the fact that Genoa is located on a mountain slope, like an amphitheater descending to the sea, and some buildings were built on plots with a large slope, the latter are dominated by the placement of buildings and courtyards at various levels. In the building of the University, the front vestibule, the central courtyard and, finally, the stairs leading to the garden, located behind the openwork two-tier arcade, are strung in ascending order on one compositional horizontally located axis.

The architect Baltassare Longena (1598-1682) worked in Venice. His main work is the largest, along with the Cathedral of St. Mark, Church of Venice Santa Maria delle Salute (1631-1682); it is on the arrow between the Giudecca Canal and the Grande Canal. This church has two domes. Behind the main, octahedral volume, topped with a dome, there is a second volume containing an altar; it is also endowed with a dome, but already smaller in size. The entrance to the temple is decorated in the form of a triumphal arch. The drum of the main dome is connected with the main walls of the church by 16 spiral volutes with sculptures installed on them. They enrich the silhouette of the building, give it a special character. Despite the splendor of decoration, the external appearance of the church shows a certain fragmentation of architecture and dryness of details. Inside, the church, lined with light gray marble, is spacious, but cold and formal.

On the Grand Canal of Venice are located both of the most significant palazzo built by Longena - Palazzo Pesaro (c. 1650) and Palazzo Rezzonico (1680). In terms of the structure of their facades, the latter are in many ways similar to the palaces of Venice during the Renaissance, in particular with the Palazzo Corner Sanso Vino, but at the same time they differ from them incomparably greater saturation and decorative forms.

The architect Gvarino Guarini (1624-1683), who was a monk of the order of the Theatines, worked in Turin. Guarino Guarini - "the most baroque of all baroque architects" - can only be compared in his creative temperament with Francesco Borromini. In his works, he often used for decorative purposes, in addition to the usual forms, recycled motifs of Moorish and Gothic architecture. He erected many buildings in Turin, including the Palazzo Carignano (1680), grand and majestic, but purely decorative in design. The decision of the main building of the palazzo is typical. In its main rectangular volume, as it were, the central part is inserted with the front staircase intricately conceived. The walls that bound it, and marches have an arcuate shape in plan. All this is reflected in the facade accordingly. If its lateral sections retain rectangular outlines, then the center is a plane bending in opposite directions with a slot in the middle, where a completely different motif is inserted in the form of an appliqué - a two-tiered loggia also of a curved shape. Window casings on the facades have a broken cartilaginous configuration. The pilasters are dotted with small, graphic forms.

Among the churches built by Guarini, the church of the Madonna della Consolata with an oval nave, behind which there is a hexagonal altar, should be highlighted. The churches built by Gvarini are even more whimsical and complex in form than his civil buildings.

In the visual arts, as in the architecture of Italy, in the 17th century, the Baroque style becomes dominant. It arises as a reaction against "mannerism", the far-fetched and complex forms of which are opposed, first of all, by the great simplicity of images, drawn both from the creations of the masters of the High Renaissance, and due to an independent study of nature. Vigilantly peering into the classical heritage, often borrowing individual elements from it, the new direction strives for the greatest possible expressiveness of forms in their turbulent dynamics. New pictorial techniques also correspond to the new searches of art: the calmness and clarity of the composition are replaced by their freedom and, as it were, by chance. The figures are displaced from their central position and are built in groups mainly along diagonal lines. This construction is of great importance for the Baroque. It enhances the impression of movement and contributes to a new transfer of space. Instead of dividing it into separate layers, which is usual for the art of the Renaissance, it is covered by a single glance, creating the impression of a random fragment of an immense whole. This new understanding of space belongs to the most valuable achievements of the Baroque, which played a certain role in the further development of realistic art. The desire for expressiveness and dynamics of forms gives rise to another feature that is no less typical of the Baroque - the use of all kinds of contrasts: contrasts of images, movements, contrasts of illuminated and shadow plans, contrasts of color. All this is complemented by a pronounced craving for decorativeness. At the same time, the pictorial texture is also changing, moving from a linear-plastic interpretation of forms to an ever wider picturesque vision.

The noted features of the new style acquired more and more definite features over time. This justifies the division of Italian art of the 17th century into three unevenly lasting stages: "early", "mature", or "high", and "late" baroque, whose dominance lasts much longer than the others. These features, as well as chronological limits, will be noted later.

The baroque art of Italy mainly serves the dominant and established after the Council of Trent Catholic Church, princely courts and numerous nobility. The tasks set before the artists were as much ideological as decorative. The decoration of churches, as well as the palaces of the nobility, monumental paintings of domes, plafonds, walls in the fresco technique are developing unprecedentedly. This type of painting becomes a specialty of Italian artists who worked both in their homeland and in Germany, Spain, France, and England. They retain an undeniable priority in this area of ​​creativity until the end of the 18th century. The themes of church paintings are magnificent scenes of glorification of religion, its dogmas or saints and their deeds. On the plafonds of the palaces, allegorical and mythological plots dominate, serving as the glorification of the sovereign families and their representatives.

Large altar paintings are still extremely common. In them, along with the solemnly majestic images of Christ and the Madonna, images that had the strongest impact on the viewer are especially common. These are scenes of executions and torments of saints, as well as their states of ecstasy.

Secular easel painting most willingly took on themes from the Bible, mythology and antiquity. As its independent types, the landscape, the battle genre, and the still life develop.

On the verge of the 16th and 17th centuries, two trends arose as a reaction against mannerism, from which all subsequent Italian painting developed: Bolognese academicism and caravaggism.

Balance School. The Carracci brothers. Bologna academicism is formed into a coherent artistic system already in the mid-1580s. Three Bolognese artists - Ludovico Carracci (1555-1609) and his cousins ​​Agostino (1557-1602) and Annibale (1560-1609), who occupies the first place among the brothers - are developing the foundations of a new style, based mainly on the study of the classical heritage of the 16th century . The influence of the Venetian school, the work of Correggio and later Roman art of the 16th century causes a decisive turn from mannerism towards simplicity, and at the same time the majesty of the images.

The first works of the Carracci brothers on the painting of the palaces of Bologna (Palazzo Fava, Palazzo Magnani) do not yet allow us to clearly differentiate their stylistic features. But the easel paintings by Annibale Carracci, in which reminiscences of the Parma school are initially strong, point to an emerging bright artistic individuality. In 1587 and 1588, he creates two altarpieces, which are, as it were, the first works of the new style: The Ascension of the Madonna and The Madonna with St. Matthew" (both in the Dresden Gallery). If in the first there is still a lot of mannerism in the movement of figures and in their expression, then “Madonna with St. Matthew" is characterized by a calm majesty of images, indicative of the beginning of a new stage in Italian painting.

In the 1580s, the Carracci brothers opened an Academy in Bologna, which they called the Accademia dei Incominati (Academy on a New Path). Instead of the former training of future artists, which provided for the acquisition of the necessary skills during auxiliary work in the workshops of painters, the Carracci spoke in favor of the systematic teaching of subjects required in the practice of the artist. Along with teaching drawing and painting, anatomy, perspective, as well as such disciplines as history, mythology, and literature were taught at the aforementioned Academy. The new method was destined to play a major role in the history of European art, and the Bologna Academy was the prototype for all subsequent academies that opened from the 17th century.

In 1595, the Carracci brothers, who had already gained great fame, were invited to Rome by Cardinal Farnese to paint his palace. Only Annibale responded to the invitation, leaving Bologna forever. In Rome, close contact with the traditions of the local school and the influence of antiquity opened a new phase in the art of the master. After a relatively insignificant painting of one of the halls of the Palazzo Farnese (“Camerino”, mid-1590s), Annibale Carracci creates the famous gallery ceiling there, which was, as it were, the crown of his work and the starting point for most decorative paintings of the 17th century. The gallery space (about 20 × 6 m), covered by a low duct vault, Annibale divides into a number of independent segments. The compositional structure of the plafond is reminiscent of the painting of the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo, from which, in addition to laying out the plane, it also borrows the illusionistic nature of the interpretation of sculpture, living human figures and paintings. The general theme is the love stories of the gods of Olympus. In the center of the ceiling is the crowded and noisy "Triumphal Procession of Bacchus and Ariadne". On the sides are two other mythological compositions, and below is a strip dissected by marbled herms and Atlanteans, at the feet of which sit, as it were, living young men. These figures are framed either by round medallions, imitating bronze ones, with antique scenes, or by purely pictorial narrative compositions. At the corners, this frieze seems to be torn apart by the image of balustrades, above which cupids are written against the background of the sky. This detail is important as an early, still timid attempt to break the real space, a technique that later became especially characteristic of baroque plafonds. The plastic power of the figures, the variety of decorative forms and colorful richness created an ensemble of extraordinary splendor.

The easel paintings created by Annibale Carracci in the Roman period of creativity are devoted mainly to religious subjects. The cold perfection of forms leaves little room for feeling in them. Lamentation of Christ (1599, Naples, National Gallery), where both are equally high, belongs to the exceptions. In the manner of painting most of the paintings, the desire for a clear linear-plastic identification of figures prevails. The Myrrh-Bearing Women at the Tomb of Christ (c. 1605, Hermitage) are among the most characteristic examples of this type of artist's work.

Often turning to the landscape genre, Annibale Carracci becomes the ancestor of the so-called "classical" landscape, which was widespread in the future. The essence of the latter lies in the fact that its representatives, using sometimes very subtly observed motives of nature, strive primarily to "ennoble" its forms. Landscapes are built in the artist's studio using elaborate schemes, in which the balancing of masses, smooth lines of contours and the use of groups of trees or ruins as scenes play the most important role. "Landscape with the Adoration of the Magi" by Annibale Carracci in the Doria Gallery in Rome can be called one of the first stylistically finished examples of this type.

Caravaggism. A few years later, after the formation of Bologna academism, another artistic movement, even more opposed to mannerism, was put forward, distinguished by a pronounced search for realism in images and bearing a largely democratic character. This trend, which is extremely important in the general history of the development of realism, is usually denoted by the term "caravagism", derived from the name of its head, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1574-1610). Widely known by the name of the place of his homeland, Caravaggio developed as a painter under the influence of the art of Northern Italy. As a young man, he ends up in Rome, where he attracts attention with a number of genre paintings. The depicted half-figures of girls and boys, gypsies and cheaters are endowed with hitherto unknown materiality. The details of the compositions are depicted in the same material way: baskets of flowers and fruits, musical instruments. The painting The Lute Player (1594-1595, Hermitage), which belongs to the best works of this circle, gives an idea of ​​the type of such works. It is characteristic of the early Caravaggio and a clear linear manner of painting.

A simple image, devoid of any idealization, decisively different from the ennobled images of Carracci, is given by Caravaggio in his Bacchus (1596-1597, Florence, Uffizi),

In the late 1590s, Caravaggio received the first major commission to create three paintings for the church of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome. In the altar painting “The Apostle Matthew the Writing, whose hand is guided by an angel” (1597-1598, the painting was lost during the Second World War), Caravaggio abandoned any idealization of the apostle, depicting him with unvarnished truthfulness in the form of a man from the people. This image caused a sharp condemnation of the customers, who demanded that the painting be replaced with another, more acceptable option for them. In one of the following compositions of the same order, representing "The Calling of the Apostle Matthew" (1598-1599), Caravaggio gave the first example of the so-called "cellar" painting. A dark tone prevails in this picture, contrasted with sharply illuminated details, especially important for the composition: heads, outlines of figures, hand gestures. This technique had a particularly definite influence on European painting in the first third of the 17th century.

The first years of the 17th century (1601-1603) date back to one of the most famous masterpieces of Caravaggio's painting - "The Entombment" (Rome, Vatican Pinacoteca). Built diagonally in height, this composition is distinguished by extreme expressiveness and vitality of images; in particular, the figure of a leaning disciple supporting the legs of the dead Christ is conveyed with extreme realism. The same realism, which does not allow any idealization, distinguishes the “Assumption of Mary” (1605-1606, Louvre) executed a few years later. Above the lying body of the Madonna, slightly touched by decay, the disciples of Christ stand in deep sadness. The genre and everyday nature of the painting, in which the artist resolutely departed from the traditional transmission of the theme, again caused criticism from the church.

The rebellious temperament of Caravaggio constantly brought him into collision with the environment. It so happened that during a quarrel he killed his opponent in the ball game and was forced to flee from Rome. In the biography of the master, a new stage was opened, marked by a constant change of place. After a short stay in Naples, he finds himself on the island of Malta, where he has great success in the service of the Grand Master of the Order of Malta, is elevated to the rank of nobleman, but soon, after a new quarrel, he ends up in prison. He then appears again in Naples, after which he receives permission to return to Rome, but due to the mistake of the authorities, mistaking him for another, he is deprived of his property, falls on a deserted seashore and dies of a fever.

During this late period of creativity, the master created several wonderful works. Among the most outstanding are the image “Portrait of the Grand Master of the Order of Malta Alof de Wignacour” (1608), which strikes with the power of realism, as well as the “Adoration of the Shepherds” (1609, Messina), exceptional in its simplicity of story and deep humanity.

The work of the master, distinguished by the novelty of the reflection of life and the originality of painting techniques, had a strong influence on many artists, both Italians and foreigners who worked in Rome. Thus, it was the most important stimulus for the development of realism in the pan-European painting of the 17th century. Among the Italians, Orazio Dsentileschi (1565-before 1647) belongs to the most prominent followers of Caravaggio.

Domenichino. As for the closest students and successors of the art of Carracci, among them Domenichino is especially outstanding. Domenico Zampieri, nicknamed Domenichino (1582-1641), is known as the largest exponent of monumental narrative fresco painting in the 17th century. He combines in it the majesty of idealized, but preserving natural forms with the seriousness of conveying content. These features are most fully expressed in the painting of the Roman church of Sant'Andrea della Valle (1624-1628), where at the end of the apse, among the stucco, white and gold ornament, Domenichino depicted scenes of the gospel narrative from the life of the apostles Andrew and Peter, and on the sails of the dome - four evangelists surrounded by angels. Of the master's easel paintings, the most famous is The Last Communion of St. Jerome (1614, Rome, Vatican). The classicism of forms, partly caused by passion for Raphael, is combined in the interpretation of faces with a deep religious feeling. Domenichino's work is often marked by the lyrical nature of the images. Indicative in this regard is his early "Girl with a Unicorn", written above the front door of the Palazzo Farnese gallery, and especially the painting, conventionally called "Diana's Hunt" (1620, Rome, Borghese Gallery). The picture depicts the competition of Diana's companions in archery and the episode of the appearance of Actaeon among them. The naturalness of the staging is enhanced by the freshness of the interpretation of the images.

Francesca Albany. Francesco Albani (1578-1660) was mainly an easel painter and is interesting, among other things, for the introduction of a new type of canvas - small, so-called "cabinet" paintings, designed to decorate rooms of limited volume. In them, Albani depicted usually idyllic landscapes, against which figures of cupids frolic and dance.

Guado Reni. Guido Reni (1575-1642), who appeared after Carracci as the head of the Bolognese school, in the early period of his work was influenced by the art of Caravaggio. It manifests itself in the absence of idealization of images and the sharp contrast of chiaroscuro (“The Crucifixion of the Apostle Peter”, ca. 1605, Rome, Vatican). Soon, however, Reni develops his own style, which is the most striking expression of one of the trends observed in the art of Italy in the 17th century. This so-called "classic" direction of the early baroque is characterized by restraint of the artistic language, as well as the rigor of idealized forms. Guido Reni's style is fully revealed for the first time in the famous "Aurora" (1613-1614, Palazzo Rospigliosi), painted in fresco technique on the ceiling of the Roman Palazzo Rospigliosi. Against the background of a golden-yellow sky, surrounded by a dance of graces, Apollo rushes on a chariot. Aurora, flying in front of him, sprinkles flowers on the earth and the leaden sea, which the rays of the sun have not yet touched. The linear-plastic interpretation of forms, a balanced composition built like an easel painting, as well as the opposition of different, but muted colors, make this fresco exceptionally indicative of an early stage in the development of Baroque decorative painting. The same features, but with more contrived poses, are also manifested in the later easel painting - Atalanta and Hippomenes (c. 1625, Naples). Reni often introduces features of sentimentalism and sugariness into his religious paintings. The Hermitage painting The Youth of the Madonna (1610s) attracts with the intimacy of the transmission of pretty girls busy with sewing. In a number of other works, the idealization of images does not exclude their naturalness and depth of feeling (“Lamentation of Christ”, Bologna, Pinacoteca, 1613-1614; “Madonna and Child”, New York, private collection, late 1620s).

The third decade of the 17th century opens a new stage of baroque art, covered by the concept of "high, or mature, baroque". Its essential features are the increased dynamism and expressiveness of forms, the picturesqueness of their transmission and the extraordinary enhancement of decorativeness. In painting, intense colorfulness joins the marked features.

Giovanni Lanfranco. One of the masters who asserted the dominance of the new style, Giovanni Lanfranco (1580-1641), relying mainly on the monumental art of Correggio, already by 1625 created his painting of the dome of Sant'Andrea della Valle, depicting "Paradise". Arranging innumerable figures in concentric circles - Madonnas, saints, angels, he leads the viewer's eye into an infinite space, in the center of which is a luminous figure of Christ. This artist is also characterized by the association of figures into broad masses, forming picturesque streams of light and shadow. The same painting techniques are repeated in Lanfranco's easel paintings, among which one of the most indicative is the "Vision of St. Margaret of Corton" (Florence, Palazzo Pitti). The state of ecstasy and the construction of groups along the diagonal are extremely characteristic of Baroque art.

Gverchino. The illusion of a space bursting above the heads of the spectators, common for the developed phase of baroque monumental art, is even more clearly expressed than in Lanfranco's by his contemporary Francesco Barbieri, nicknamed Guercino (1591-1666). In the ceiling of the Palazzo Ludovisi in Rome (1621-1623), as well as in the ceiling of Guido Reni mentioned above, Aurora is depicted, this time rushing in a chariot through a cloudy sky. The tops of the walls and towering cypresses depicted along the edge of the composition, when viewed from a certain point of view, create the illusion of continuing the real architecture of the room. Guercino, who is, as it were, a link between the artistic manners of Carracci and Caravaggio, borrows the character of his figures from the first, and the techniques of his chiaroscuro painting from the second. "The Burial of St. Petronilla" (1621, Rome, Capitol Gallery) is one of the clear examples of early Guercino's painting, in which the naturalness of the images is combined with the breadth and energy of pictorial performance. In "Execution of St. Catherine" (1653, Hermitage), as in other later works of the master, the veracity of the images is replaced by the elegance of the composition.

Domenico Fetti. Of the other artists of this time, Domenico Fetti (1589-1624) should also be mentioned. In his compositions, elements of a realistic everyday genre coexist with a rich colorful palette, which was influenced by the art of Rubens. His paintings "Madonna" and "Healing of Tobit" (1620s, Hermitage). distinguished by the sonority and softness of color, allow you to get a certain idea of ​​​​the artist's coloristic quest.

Lorenzo Bernini. The central figure of High Baroque art is the brilliant architect and sculptor Lorenzo Bernini (1599-1680). The sculpture of the master represents a unique combination of all the most characteristic features of the Baroque style. It organically merged the ultimate sharpness of a realistic image with an immense breadth of decorative vision. To this is added an unsurpassed mastery of the technique of processing marble, bronze, terracotta.

The son of a sculptor, Lorenzo Bernini belongs to the masters who find their artistic language very early and reach maturity almost from the first steps. Already around 1620, Bernini creates several marble sculptures that belong to the undisputed masterpieces. His statue "David" dates back to 1623 (Rome, Galleria Borghese). She is distinguished by her extraordinary mastery of realistic transmission of the tension of the spiritual and physical forces of the biblical hero, depicted at the moment of throwing a stone with a sling. Two years later, the Apollo Pursuing Daphne group is performed (1620s, Rome, Galleria Borghese). The picturesque forms of running figures and the exceptional perfection of surface treatment are complemented by the rare subtlety of expression on the faces of Daphne, who still does not feel the ongoing metamorphosis (turning her into a laurel tree), and Apollo, who understands that the victim he has overtaken is irretrievably lost.

The twenties and thirties of the 17th century - the time of the pontificate of Urban VIII - strengthened Bernini's position as the leading painter of Rome. In addition to numerous architectural works, he creates in the same period a number of monumental sculptures, portraits, as well as works of a purely decorative nature. Of the latter, the “Triton Fountain” (1637) towering on one of the squares of Rome belongs to the most perfect. The bizarre outlines of a huge shell supported by dolphins and a triton towering above it are in harmony with the jets of falling waters.

The strongly pronounced decorativeness of most of the master’s works can be contrasted with the portraits of Constance Buonarelli (Florence, National Museum) and Cardinal Scipione Borghese (Rome, Borghese Gallery), related to the same stage of Bernini’s activity, amazing in terms of realistic sharpness of characteristics dating back to the 1630s.

The accession in 1640 to the papal throne of Innocent X entailed the temporary removal of Bernini from a leading role in the construction and decoration of Rome. In the short period separating him from the then coming official recognition, Bernini performs a number of new wonderful works. Bearing in mind the temporary non-recognition of his artistic merits, he creates the allegorical group "The Truth Revealed by Time". The figure of time remained unfulfilled, but the seated allegorical female figure strikes with the extraordinary expressiveness of realistic forms.

The famous group “The Ecstasy of St. Teresa, which adorns the Cornaro chapel of the Roman church of Santa Maria della Vittoria (1645-1652), An angel with an arrow in his hand appears above the saint, bending in a state of ecstasy. Teresa's feelings are expressed with all the inexorability of a realistic transmission. The interpretation of her wide attire and the figure of an angel contains decorative features. The white color of the marble group, placed against the background of golden rays, merges with the colorful shades of the colored marble of the architectural environment into an elegant color ensemble. The theme and performance are very characteristic of the Italian Baroque style.

1628-1647 dates back to one of the most important creations of Bernini - the tombstone of Pope Urban VIII in the Cathedral of St. Peter in Rome. By the majestic expressiveness of the idea and the mastery of the plastic solution, this monument belongs to the most remarkable works of tomb sculpture. Against the background of a niche lined with colored marble, a white pedestal with an expressive bronze figure of the pope rises. His raised hand in blessing conveys a formidable majesty to the figure. Below on the sides of the green marble sarcophagus are white figures, personifying the virtues of Urban VIII - wise Justice and Mercy. A bronze half-figure of a winged skeleton growing out from behind the sarcophagus attaches to the pedestal a board with the inscribed name of the deceased.

The period of temporary non-recognition of Bernini is soon replaced by the same Innocent X by his recognition as the official head of the Roman school, and almost with more glory than before. Of the sculptural works of the second half of Bernini's activity, one can note the grandiose bronze pulpit of the Cathedral of St. Peter in Rome, the figure of Emperor Constantine galloping on a horse (ibid.), and in particular the creation of a new type of portrait, the best image of which is the marble bust of Louis XIV, executed by the master during his stay in 1665 (at the invitation of the French court) in Paris. While maintaining the expressiveness of facial features, the main attention is now focused on the decorativeness of the whole, achieved by a picturesque interpretation of the flowing curls of a huge wig and, as it were, caught up in the wind, fluttering draperies.

Endowed with exceptional expressiveness, originality of visual style and perfection of technical skill, the art of Bernini found countless admirers and imitators who influenced the plastic art of Italy and other countries.

Pietro da Norton. Of the painters, the most indicative of the High Baroque style is Pietro Berrettini da Norton (1596-1669). He first came to the fore with his multi-figure easel paintings (“The Victory of Alexander the Great over Darius”, “The Rape of the Sabine Women” - 1620s, both - the Capitoline Museum, Rome), in which he discovered a deep knowledge of the material culture of Ancient Rome, acquired as a result of studying the monuments of antiquity . But the main achievements of Nortons belong to the field of monumental and decorative paintings. Between 1633 and 1639, he executed a grandiose plafond in the Palazzo Barberini (Rome), which is a striking example of Baroque decorative painting. The plafond glorifies the head of the Barberini house, Pope Urban VIII. In the space covered by a heavy rectangular frame, the figure of Divine Wisdom surrounded by many allegorical characters is depicted. To the left above her, a slender girl with a crown of stars in raised hands, personifying Immortality, flies up to the heavens. Still higher, the powerful figures of the Muses, serving as a reminder of the poetic activity of Urban VIII, carry a huge wreath in the center of which three bees of the Barberini coat of arms fly. On the sides of the frame, on the rounding of the transition to the walls, mythological scenes are depicted, telling in an allegorical form about the activities of the pope. The richness of the pictorial motifs, the diversity and vitality of the images corresponds to the sonorous brilliance of the whole.

The organic fusion, characteristic of the monumental style of Nortona, into a single decorative system of architectonics of compositions, painting and plastic ornamentation found its most complete expression in the painting of a number of halls of the Palazzo Pitti in Florence (1640s), designated by the names of the gods of Olympus. This time the glorification of the Medici house is distinguished by an extraordinary variety of compositions. The most interesting is the plafond that adorns the "Hall of Mars" and speaks of the military virtues of the owners of the Palazzo. The dynamics inherent in this image, the asymmetry of construction, as well as the irrationality of the composition, expressed in the fact that light figures of cupids support the massive stone coat of arms of the Medici, belong to the extreme expressions of the Baroque style, which has reached its full development.

At the same time, realistic tendencies find their development in the work of a number of Italian masters, who mainly worked outside of Rome.

Salvator Rosa. Among the most original artists of the mid-17th century is Salvator Rosa (1615-1673), who was not only a painter, but also a poet, pamphleteer and actor. A native of Naples, where the influence of the Caravaggio school was especially persistent, Rosa is close to the latter in the reality of the images and in the manner of painting with dark shadows. The themes of this artist's work are extremely diverse, but the most important for the history of art are his many battle scenes and landscapes. In battle compositions, the stormy temperament of the artist manifested itself in full force. Such a battle genre, picked up by imitators, will become widespread throughout European art. The landscapes of the master, depicting rocky sea coasts, due to the motifs of the depicted nature, the dynamics of the composition, the sharp contrast of lighting and the emotionality of the overall solution, can be called romantic. Thus, they can be contrasted with the classical landscapes of the Carrachi school and the highly realistic landscapes of the northern schools. Among the large-figure paintings of Rosa, Odysseus and Nausicaa (1650s) and Democrat Surprising at the Agility of Protagoras (the same time) are kept in the Hermitage. They serve as excellent examples of the master's narrative style and pictorial technique.

From the sixties of the 17th century, the last, longest phase in the development of baroque art in Italy, the so-called "late baroque", opens. It is characterized by less rigor in the construction of compositions, greater lightness of figures, especially noticeable in female images, increasing subtleties of color, and, finally, a further increase in decorativeness.

Giovanni Battista Gauli. Giovanni Battista Gauli (1639-1709), known both as an easel painter and as an artist who created a number of frescoes, is the main exponent of the new trends in painting. His art is closely related to the art of the late Bernini. Among Gauli's best works are his early light-coloured paintings on the sails of the church of Sant'Agnese in Piazza Navona in Rome (c. 1665). Instead of the evangelists, the most common church architecture in these places, Gauli depicted allegorical scenes of Christian virtues, distinguished by their lightness of form. Particularly attractive is the one in which two young girls are represented, one of whom lays a wreath of flowers on the other. The paintings of the plafond, dome and conch of the apse of the main church of the Jesuit order Il Gesu in Rome (1670s-early 1680s) are works of Gauli's mature style. This plafond, known as the Adoration of the Name of Jesus, is very indicative of the late Baroque style. Among the written architecture, which continues the real forms of the church, there is a heavenly space that goes into the depths, filled with innumerable figures, like waves shimmering from dark to lighter groups. Another type of painting by the master is his unornamented, psychologically superbly characterized portraits of his contemporaries (Pope Clement IX, Rome, Gallery of St. Luke; Portrait of Bernini, Rome, Corsini Gallery).

Andrea Pozzo. The search for the illusory nature of architectonic constructions reaches its highest development in the work of Andrea Pozzo (1642-1709). His most important work - the plafond fresco of the Church of Saint Ignazio in Rome, overlooked from the central nave, depicted on it with tiers of terraces, arcades, colonnades of billowing walls, above which Ignatius Loyola stands out among the many figures - creates the illusion of architectural space. Like other similar plafonds, the harmony and correctness of construction are immediately violated as soon as the viewer moves away from the point at which it was designed.

The Neapolitan Luca Giordano (1632-1705) also belongs to the most famous masters of decorative painting. A talented and extremely prolific master, he was nevertheless devoid of inner strength and originality and often imitated other artists. Among his best works is the plafond of the Florentine Palazzo Riccardi, glorifying the Medici family.

In the field of easel painting, Carlo Maratta (1625-1713), belonging to the Roman school of the late 17th century, stands out from the contemporaries of the named artists. He took the place of the largest representative of the late Baroque. His altar paintings are distinguished by smooth lines and majestic calmness of compositions. As a strong artist, he found himself in the field of portraiture. Among his works, the Hermitage's Portrait of Pope Clement IX (1669), sharp in characterization and magnificent in painting, stands out. Francesco Solimena (1657-1749), who worked in Naples, in his biblical and allegorical paintings, recalls Caravaggio's techniques with sharp contrasts of light and shadow, but uses them in purely decorative compositions. The late Bolognese Giuseppe Maria Crespi (1664-1747), who is one of the most gifted artists of the period under review, had a strong influence on the painting of the 18th century. The master is characterized by a strongly pronounced realistic orientation. It manifests itself both in religious compositions and even more clearly in his everyday paintings (“Death of St. Joseph”, ca. 1712, Hermitage; “Series of Sacraments”, 1710s, Dresden Gallery).

PAINTING OF ITALY

In Italy, where the Catholic reaction finally triumphed in the 17th century, baroque art formed very early, flourished and became the dominant trend.

The painting of this time was characterized by spectacular decorative compositions, ceremonial portraits depicting arrogant nobles and ladies with a proud posture, drowning in luxurious robes and jewelry.

Instead of a line, preference was given to a picturesque spot, mass, light and shade contrasts, with the help of which the form was created. Baroque violated the principles of dividing space into plans, the principles of direct linear perspective to enhance depth, the illusion of going to infinity.

The origin of Baroque painting in Italy is associated with the work of the Carracci brothers, the founders of one of the first art schools in Italy - the Academy of those on the right path (1585), the so-called Bologna Academy - a workshop in which novice masters studied according to a special program.

Annibale Carracci (1560-1609) was the most talented of the three Carracci brothers. In his work, the principles of the Bologna Academy are clearly traced, which set as its main task the revival of monumental art and the traditions of the Renaissance during its heyday, which Carracci's contemporaries revered as an example of unattainable perfection and a kind of artistic "absolute". Therefore, Carracci perceives the masterpieces of his great predecessors rather as a source from which to draw the aesthetic solutions found by the titans of the Renaissance, and not as a starting point for his own creative searches. The plastically beautiful, the ideal is not for him the "highest degree" of the real, but only an obligatory artistic norm - art, thus, is opposed to reality, in which the master does not find a new fundamental ideal. Hence the conventionality and abstractness of his images and pictorial solutions.

At the same time, the art of the Carracci brothers and the Bolognese academicism turned out to be the most suitable for being placed at the service of the official ideology, and it was not for nothing that their work quickly gained recognition in the higher (state and Catholic) spheres.

The largest work of Annibale Carracci in the field of monumental painting is the painting of the gallery of the Palazzo Farnese in Rome with frescoes telling about the life of the gods - based on scenes from the Metamorphoses by the ancient Roman poet Ovid (1597-1604, made together with his brother and assistants).

The painting consists of separate panels gravitating towards the central large composition depicting the Triumph of Bacchus and Ariadne, which introduces an element of dynamics into the picturesque ensemble. Nude male figures, placed between these panels, imitate sculpture, being at the same time the protagonists of the murals. The result was an impressive large-scale work, spectacular in appearance, but not united by any significant idea, without which the monumental ensembles of the Renaissance were inconceivable. In the future, these principles embodied by Carracci - the desire for dynamic composition, illusionistic effects and self-sufficient decorativeness - will be characteristic of all monumental painting of the 17th century.

Annibale Carracci wants to fill the motifs taken in the art of the Renaissance with a lively, modern content. He calls to study nature, in the early period of creativity, he even turns to genre painting. But, from the point of view of the master, nature itself is too rough and imperfect, so it should appear on the canvas already transformed, ennobled in accordance with the norms of classical art. Therefore, specific vital motives could exist in the composition only as a separate fragment, designed to enliven the scene. So, for example, in the painting “The Bean Eater” (1580s), the artist’s ironic attitude to what is happening is felt: he emphasizes the spiritual primitiveness of a peasant who greedily eats beans; images of figures and objects are deliberately simplified. Other genre paintings of the young painter are sustained in the same spirit: “The Butcher's Shop”, “Self-Portrait with Father”, “Hunting” (all - 1580s) - adj., fig. 1.

Many of Annibale Carracci's paintings have religious themes. But the cold perfection of forms leaves little room for the manifestation of feelings in them. Only in rare cases does an artist create works of a different kind. Such is the Lamentation of Christ (c. 1605). The Bible tells how the holy worshipers of Christ came to worship at his tomb, but found it empty. From the angel sitting on the edge of the sarcophagus, they learned about his miraculous resurrection and were happy and shocked by this miracle. But the imagery and excitement of the ancient text do not find a special response from Carracci; he could only contrast the light, fluttering clothes of an angel with the massiveness and static figures of women. The coloring of the picture is also quite ordinary, but at the same time it is distinguished by strength and intensity.

A special group consists of his works on mythological themes, in which his passion for the masters of the Venetian school affected. In these paintings, glorifying the joy of love, the beauty of the naked female body, Annibale manifests himself as a wonderful colorist, lively and poetic artist.

Among the best works of Annibale Carracci are his landscape works. Carracci and his students created, on the basis of the traditions of the Venetian landscape of the 16th century, a type of so-called classical, or heroic, landscape. The artist also transformed nature in an artificially elevated spirit, but without external pathos. His work marked the beginning of one of the most fruitful trends in the development of landscape painting of this era (The Flight into Egypt, c. 1603), which then found its continuation and development in the work of the masters of subsequent generations, in particular, Poussin.

Michelangelo Caravaggio (1573-1610). The most significant Italian painter of this period was Michelangelo Caravaggio, who can be ranked among the greatest masters of the 17th century.

The name of the artist comes from the name of the town in northern Italy where he was born. From the age of eleven, he already worked as an apprentice to one of the Milanese painters, and in 1590 he left for Rome, which by the end of the 17th century had become the artistic center of all of Europe. It was here that Caravaggio achieved his most significant success and fame.

Unlike most of his contemporaries, who perceived only a more or less familiar set of aesthetic values, Caravaggio managed to abandon the traditions of the past and create his own, deeply individual style. This was partly the result of his negative reaction to the artistic clichés of the time.

Never belonging to a particular art school, he already in his early works contrasted the individual expressiveness of the model, simple everyday motives for idealizing images and the allegorical interpretation of the plot, characteristic of the art of mannerism and academicism (“Little Sick Bacchus”, “Young Man with a Basket of Fruit”, both - 1593).

Although at first glance it may seem that he departed from the artistic canons of the Renaissance, moreover, he overthrew them, in reality, the pathos of his realistic art was their internal continuation, which laid the foundations of the realism of the 17th century. This is clearly evidenced by his own statements. “Each picture, no matter what it depicts, and no matter who it was written,” Caravaggio argued, “is no good if all its parts are not executed from nature; nothing can be preferred to this mentor.” In this statement of Caravaggio, with his inherent straightforwardness and categoricalness, the entire program of his art is embodied.

The artist made a great contribution to the development of the genre of everyday life (Rounders, 1596; Boy Bitten by a Lizard, 1594). The heroes of most of the works of Caravaggio are people from the people. He found them in a motley street crowd, in cheap pubs and noisy city squares, brought them to his studio as sitters, preferring this particular method of work to the study of ancient statues - this is evidenced by the first biographer of the artist D. Bellori. His favorite characters are soldiers, card players, fortune-tellers, musicians (Fortune Teller, Lute Player (both - 1596); Musicians, 1593) - adj., fig. 2. It is they who "inhabit" the genre paintings of Caravaggio, in which he asserts not only the right to exist, but also the artistic significance of a private everyday motive. If in early works Caravaggio's painting, for all its plasticity and substantive persuasiveness, was still somewhat rough, then in the future he gets rid of this shortcoming of his. The mature works of the artist are monumental canvases with exceptional dramatic power (“The Calling of the Apostle Matthew” and “The Martyrdom of the Apostle Matthew” (both - 1599-1600); “The Entombment”, “The Death of Mary” (both - c. 1605-1606 )). These works, although close in style to his early genre scenes, are already filled with a special inner drama.

The picturesque manner of Caravaggio in this period is based on powerful contrasts of light and shadow, expressive simplicity of gestures, energetic modeling of volumes, saturation of color - techniques that create emotional tension, emphasizing the acute affectation of feelings. Usually the artist depicts several figures taken close up, close to the viewer and painted with all the plasticity, materiality and visible authenticity. The environment, household interiors and still life begin to play a large role in his works. Here is how, for example, in the painting “The Calling of Matthew”, the master shows the manifestation of the sublime spiritual in the world of “low” everyday life.

The plot of the work is based on the story from the Gospel about how Christ called the publican Matthew, despised by all, to become his disciple and follower. The characters are depicted sitting at a table in an uncomfortable, empty room, and the characters are presented in full size, dressed in modern costumes. Unexpectedly, Christ and the Apostle Peter, who suddenly entered the room, caused a variety of reactions in the audience - from amazement to alertness. A stream of light entering from above into a dark room rhythmically organizes what is happening, highlighting and linking its main elements (Matthew's face, Christ's hand and profile). Snatching figures out of the darkness and sharply pushing bright light and deep shadow, the painter gives a feeling of inner tension and dramatic excitement. The scene is dominated by the elements of feelings, human passions. To create an emotional atmosphere, Caravaggio skillfully uses rich color. Unfortunately, the harsh realism of Caravaggio was not understood by many of his contemporaries, adherents of "high art". After all, even creating works on mythological and religious themes (the most famous of them is “Rest on the Flight into Egypt”, 1597), he invariably remained true to the realistic principles of his everyday painting, so even the most traditional biblical subjects received from him a completely different intimate and psychological interpretation different from the traditional one. And the appeal to nature, which he made the direct object of the image of his works, and the veracity of its interpretation caused many attacks on the artist by the clergy and officials.

Nevertheless, among the artists of the 17th century, there was, perhaps, not a single significant one who, in one way or another, would not have experienced the mighty impact of the art of Caravaggio. True, most of the master's followers, who were called caravagists, diligently copied only his external techniques, and above all, his famous contrasting chiaroscuro, the intensity and materiality of painting.

Peter Paul Rubens, Diego Velazquez, Jusepe de Ribera, Rembrandt van Rijn, Georges de Latour and many other famous artists passed through the stage of caravaggism. It is impossible to imagine the further development of realism in the 17th century without the revolution that Michelangelo Caravaggio made in European painting.

Alessandro Magnasco (1667-1749). His work is associated with the romantic trend in Italian art of the 17th century.

The future artist was born in Genoa. He studied first with his father, then, after his death, in Milan with one of the local masters, who taught him the techniques of Venetian painting and taught the art of portraiture. In the future, Magnasco worked for many years in Milan, Genoa, Florence, and only in his declining years, in 1735, he finally returned to his native city.

This talented but extremely controversial artist was endowed with an extremely bright personality. Magnasco's work defies any classification: sometimes deeply religious, sometimes blasphemous, in his works he showed himself either as an ordinary decorator, or as a painter with a quivering soul. His art is imbued with heightened emotionality, standing on the verge of mysticism and exaltation.

The nature of the artist's early works, executed during his stay in Milan, was determined by the traditions of the Genoese school of painting, which gravitated towards the pastoral. But already such works of his as several "Bacchanalia", "Bandits' Halt" (all from the 1710s) - depicting restless human figures against the backdrop of majestic ancient ruins - carry a completely different emotional charge than the serene pastorals of his predecessors. They are made in dark colors, with a jerky dynamic stroke, indicating the perception of the world in a dramatic aspect (Appendix, Fig. 3).

The artist's attention is drawn to everything unusual - scenes of the tribunals of the Inquisition, torture that he could observe in Milan, which is under the rule of Spain ("Torture Chamber"), a sermon in the synagogue ("Synagogue", late 1710s-1720s), nomadic life gypsies ("Gypsy Meal"), etc.

Magnasco's favorite subjects are various episodes from monastic life (“The Funeral of a Monk”, “The Meal of Nuns”, both from the 1720s), cells of hermits and alchemists, ruins of buildings and night landscapes with figures of gypsies, beggars, wandering musicians, etc. Quite real the characters of his works - bandits, fishermen, hermits, gypsies, comedians, soldiers, laundresses ("Landscape with laundresses", 1720s) - act in a fantastic environment. They are depicted against the backdrop of gloomy ruins, a raging sea, a wild forest, and harsh gorges. Magnasco draws their figures exaggeratedly elongated, as if wriggling and in constant continuous motion; their elongated curved silhouettes are subject to the nervous rhythm of the stroke. The paintings are permeated with a tragic sense of the insignificance of man in the face of the blind forces of nature and the severity of social reality.

The same disturbing dynamics distinguishes his landscape sketches, with their emphasized subjectivity and emotionality, relegating to the background the transmission of real pictures of nature (“Seascape”, 1730s; “Mountain Landscape”, 1720s). In some of the later works of the master, the influence of the landscapes of the Italian Salvatore Rosa, engravings by the French mannerist artist Jacques Callot is noticeable. This indistinguishable facet of reality and a bizarre world created by the artist’s imagination, who keenly felt all the tragic and joyful events of the surrounding reality around him, will always be present in his works, giving them the character of either a parable or an everyday scene.

The expressive pictorial manner of Magnasco in some way anticipated the creative searches of the artists of the 18th century. He paints in quick, rapid strokes, using restless chiaroscuro, giving rise to restless lighting effects, which gives his paintings a deliberate sketchiness, and sometimes even decorativeness. At the same time, the coloring of his works is devoid of colorful multicolor, usually the master is limited to a gloomy grayish-brown or greenish scale, however, in its own way, quite refined and refined. Recognized during his lifetime and forgotten by posterity, this original artist regained popularity only at the beginning of the 20th century, when they saw in him the forerunner of impressionism and even expressionism.

Giuseppe Maria Crespi (1665-1747), a native of Bologna, began his painting career with diligent copying of paintings and frescoes by famous masters, including his countrymen, the Carracci brothers. Later, he traveled to northern Italy, getting acquainted with the work of the High Renaissance masters, mainly Venetian (Titian and Veronese).

By the beginning of the XVIII century. Crespi is already quite famous, in particular, for his altarpieces. But the main work of the early period of his work is the monumental painting of the plafonds of the Palazzo Count Pepoli (1691-1692) in Bologna, the mythological characters of which (gods, heroes, nymphs) in his interpretation look extremely earthy, lively and convincing, in contrast to the traditional abstract images of the Baroque .

Crespi worked in various genres. He painted pictures on mythological, religious and everyday subjects, created portraits and still lifes, and in each of these traditional genres he brought a new and sincere vision of the contemporary world. The artist's commitment to nature, to an accurate depiction of the surrounding reality, came into irreconcilable contradiction with the decrepit traditions of Bologna academism, which by this time had become a brake on the development of art. Therefore, a constant struggle against the conventions of academic painting for the triumph of realistic art runs like a red thread through all his work.

In the early 1700s Crespi moves from mythological scenes to depicting scenes from peasant life, interpreting them first in the spirit of the pastoral, and then giving them an increasingly convincing character of everyday painting. One of the first among the masters of the XVIII century, he began to depict the life of ordinary people - laundresses, dishwashers, cooks, as well as episodes from peasant life.

The desire to give his paintings more authenticity makes him turn to Caravaggio's "cellar" light - a sharp illumination of a part of the dark space of the interior, due to which the figures acquire plastic clarity. The simplicity and sincerity of the narration are complemented by the objects of folk use introduced into the image of the interior, which are always painted by Crespi with great pictorial skill (“Scene in the Cellar”; “Peasant Family”).

The highest achievement of everyday painting of that time was his canvases "Fair in Poggio a Caiano" (c. 1708) and "Fair" (c. 1709) depicting crowded folk scenes.

They showed the artist's interest in the graphics of Jacques Callot, as well as his close acquaintance with the work of the Dutch masters of genre painting of the 17th century. But Crespi's images of peasants are devoid of Callot's irony, and he is not as skillfully able to characterize the environment as the Dutch genre painters did. The figures and objects of the foreground are written out in more detail than the rest - this is reminiscent of the manner of Magnasco. However, the creations of the Genoese painter, executed in a bravura manner, always contain an element of fantasy. Crespi, on the other hand, strove for a detailed and accurate story about a colorful and cheerful scene. Clearly distributing light and shadow, he endows his figures with life specifics, gradually overcoming the traditions of the pastoral genre.

The most significant work of a mature master was a series of seven paintings "Seven Sacraments" (1710s) - the highest achievement of baroque painting of the early 18th century (appendix, fig. 4). These are works that are completely new in spirit, in which a departure from the traditional abstract interpretation of religious scenes was indicated.

All paintings ("Confession", "Baptism", "Marriage", "Communion", "Priesthood", "Anointing", "Unction") are written in Rembrandt's warm reddish-brown tonality. The reception of harsh lighting brings a certain emotional note to the narrative of the sacraments. The artist's color palette is rather monochrome, but at the same time it is surprisingly rich in various shades and overflows of colors, united by a soft, sometimes chiaroscuro glowing from within. This gives all the depicted episodes a touch of the mysterious secrecy of what is happening and at the same time emphasizes the idea of ​​Crespi, who seeks to tell about the most significant stages of life for every person of that time, which are presented in the form of scenes from reality, acquiring the character of a kind of parable. Moreover, this story is distinguished not by didactics, characteristic of the Baroque, but by secular edification.

Almost everything that was written by the master after that presents a picture of the gradual fading of his talent. Increasingly, he uses in his paintings familiar stamps, compositional schemes, academic poses, which he had previously avoided. Not surprisingly, shortly after his death, Crespi's work was quickly forgotten.

As a bright and original master, he was discovered only in the twentieth century. But in terms of quality, depth and emotional richness, Crespi's painting, which completed the art of the 17th century, in its best manifestations is inferior, perhaps, only to Caravaggio, whose work so brilliantly and innovatively began the Italian art of this era.