This important new introduction to the major developments in art and architecture that emerged from seventeenth-century Western Europe bridges the gap between the specialized study and a more general survey. Seventeenth-Century Art and Architecture encompasses the socio-political and cultural background of the period. In the process it examines the careers of the most significant painters, sculptors, and architects, and those of less well-known artists.
Italy is the logical place to begin this geographical tour of Europe, not least because it was a magnet for Flemish and French artists, and because Italian artists were highly prized by the Spanish, French, and English courts. In Bologna and Rome,Annibale Carracci and Caravaggio embarked upon a stylistic revolution that deposed the international Mannerist style. The Counter-Reformation Church in Rome offered so many opportunities for artists that the city secured its position as the most vital European artistic center.
Subsequent chapters focus on Flanders, Spain, France, the Dutch Republic, and England. The increasing influence of secular patronage is reflected in the popularity of mythological and biblical themes with obvious erotic content. Commissions that had hitherto been the exclusive privilege 9f the Church, monarchy, aristocrats, and major guilds now originated from upper middle-class patrons seeking portraits of thermselves and their families, landscapes of their own terrain, genre scenes for their entertainment, and still-lifes reflecting their sophisticated tastes.
Major artists covered include Bernini, Borromini, Caravaggio, Carracci, Claude, Girardon, Guercino, Hals, Jones, Le Brun,Le Vau, Murillo, Poussin, Rembrandt, Reni, Ribera, Rubens, Ruisdael, Steen, Van Dyck, Velazquez, Vermeer, Wren, and Zurbaran. The seventeenth century also witnessed the emergence of successful women painters such as Artemisia Gentileschi and Clara Peeters, who receive due attention here.
Covering artistic developments across six countries and examining in detail many of the artworks on display, this book demonstrates considerable breadth and depth. Reflecting the latest developments in research, it is more substantial and up-to-date than any comparable survey. Written with great clarity, knowledge, and affection, it is a true tribute to its subject.
Preface viii
INTRODUCTION xi
Politics, Religion, and Art xi
The Economics of Art xii
Geography, Cosmology, and Astronomy xiii
Concepts of the Body, Ancient and Modern xv
Education and Literacy xvi
Artists' Changing Status and Training xvii
New Subjects, New Genres xviii
Transforming the Renaissance and "Baroque" Art xxi
1 ITALY 1
The Decline of Mannerism 3
Architecture and City Planning in Rome, 1585-1625 4
Bolognese Painting: The Carracci Reform 7
Painting in Rome, 1585-1610 21
Annibale Carracci in Rome, 1595-1609 24
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio 34
Caravaggio's Italian Followers 50
The Carracci Succession in Rome and Bologna 56
Architecture and City Planning in Rome, 1625-1680 78
Italian Sculpture 85
Gian Lorenzo Bernini's Early Career 86
Bernini, Algardi, and the Portrait Bust 91
The Competition: Alessandro Algardi and Francesco Duquesnoy 94
Bernini and Urban VIII 99
Algardi and Bernini during the Papacy of Innocent X 108
Painting in Rome, 1623-1680 113
Pietro da Cortona 113
Andrea Sacchi 120
Pietro da Cortona in Florence and Rome 123
Carlo Maratta 125
Giovanni Battista Gaulli (II Baciccio) 127
Painting in Naples 134
2 FLANDERS 143
Peter Paul Rubens 145
Rubens in Italy, 1600-1608 148
Rubens in Antwerp, 1609-1622 152
Rubens, Diplomat and Artist, 1622-1630 165
Rubens's Last Decade, 1630-1640 169
Anthony van Dyck 174
Van Dyck in England and Italy, 1621-1627 176
Van Dyck's Second Antwerp Period, 1627-1632 180
Jacob Jordaens 182
Still-Life Genre Painters 186
3 SPAIN 195
Spanish Architecture 196
Spanish Sculpture 197
Spanish Painting, 1600-1650 200
Jusepe de Ribera 201
Francisco de Zurbaran 208
Diego Velazquez in Seville 217
Velazquez in Madrid, 1623-1648 220
Velazquez in Italy, 1648-1651 228
Velazquez in Madrid, 1651-1660 228
Spanish Painting, 1650-1700 232
Bartolome Esteban Murillo 232
Juan de Valdez Leal and Claudio Coello 239
4 FRANCE 243
Architecture and City Planning 244
Paris: The Pont-Neuf, Palais du Luxembourg, and H6tel de la Vrilliere 244
Expansion under Louis XIV; The Louvre and Versailles 248
French Sculpture 254
Pierre Puget 255
Francois Girardon and Antoine Coysevox 256
French Painting and Printmaking 258
Simon Vouet 260
Valentin de Boulogne 263
Georges de la Tour 264
Simon Vouet's Successors 267
Philippe de Champaigne 269
Nicolas Poussin in Paris and Rome 273
Poussin after 1630 279
Poussin and Landscape Painting 289
Poussin's Last Works 292
Claude Lorrain and French Landscape Painting 295
Charles Le Brun and the Academy 303
5 THE DUTCH REPUBLIC 311
Haarlem and the Creation of a Dutch National Style 313
The Haarlem Mannerists 313
The Utrecht "Caravaggisti" 315
Frans Hals and Dutch Portraiture 319
Town Planning and Architectural Developments in Haarlem and Amsterdam 327
Painting in Amsterdam 333
Rembrandt van Rijn and his School 334
Rembrandt's Early Years in Leiden 334
Rembrandt in Amsterdam, 1627-1639 336
Rembrandt's Self-Portraits 341
Rembrandt in Amsterdam, 1639-1642 344
Rembrandt's Landscape Prints and Drawings 346
Rembrandt after 1642 348
Rembrandt's Artistic Heirs 354
Dutch Genre Painting before 1650 356
Judith Leyster 358
Dutch Genre Painting after 1650 361
Johannes Vermeer 366
Jan Steen 374
Landscape Painting before 1650 378
Early Tonal Landscape Painting 378
Landscape Painting after 1650 380
6 ENGLAND 387
English Painting 388
Van Dyck in England 388
Later Portrait Painters 393
Palladianism and Architectural Planning in London 396
Inigo Jones 396
Christopher Wren 398
EPILOGUE 404
Notes 407
Timeline 408
Bibliography 412
Picture Credits 416
Index 417
