Baroque Art in Spain: Sculpture and Painting Styles
Baroque Sculpture in Spain
While in Italy, the grand sculpture of Bernini, utilizing bronze and marble for religious themes, developed in the seventeenth century, Spain saw the rise of *polychrome wood sculpture* of a religious nature. This art aimed to raise believers’ awareness of the Passion of Christ, explaining its realism, which was sometimes excessive or even in poor taste.
The primary patron for sculptors was the Church, commissioning *retablos* (altarpieces), religious images, and processional figures for Brotherhoods.
The pursuit of reality significantly impacted the works. This included painting images using the *polychrome estofado* technique, employing ‘dressed images,’ and incorporating natural elements.
At the start of the seventeenth century, two main sculptural centers emerged:
- Castile (with Valladolid as its primary hub)
- Andalusia (featuring Seville and Granada)
In the eighteenth century, other schools joined, most notably *Murcia* (associated with Salzillo).
Baroque Painting Characteristics
As a figurative art form, Baroque painting is characterized by *naturalism*, *movement*, and a preference for the *showy and ostentatious*.
Topics were often depicted with raw intensity. The desire to represent reality as accurately as possible led to the inclusion of *still lifes* and religious scenes that reflected everyday life.
Baroque painters were deeply concerned with the *study of expression*. Characters are depicted with a wide range of emotions (shouting, open laughter, crying, etc.) as reflections of their state of mind. Furthermore, Baroque art often embraced the representation of pain.
The need to contemplate celestial glories, or the moments of passing for martyrs as described by mystics, led to *showy and dramatic compositions*. In these, the sky, full of light, angels, and ornate clouds, occupies the upper part of the canvas, while the earthly scene unfolds at the bottom.
The *movement within compositions* is significantly enhanced, moving away from the quiet Renaissance triangular outlines. There’s a desire to create large oblique or diagonal lines that often cross the canvas dynamically.
As for purely pictorial elements, *light* gains paramount importance, creating strong contrasts between illuminated and shadowed areas (*tenebrism*).
Forms are often drawn with sculptural accuracy, but their definition is perfected by the *illumination and the effect of air* on shape and color. If Renaissance painting is indebted to the discovery of linear perspective, Baroque painting owes much to the mastery of *aerial perspective*.
Baroque painters, influenced by the Venetian school, understood color not only as a primary pigment value but also as a *creator of forms*. They evolved towards increasingly *loose brushwork* and an absolute *predominance of color over drawing*.
Mythological themes also continued to be depicted.
Although Baroque painting, particularly in Italy, continued to use *fresco*, its application was mainly reduced to the decoration of vaults. Instead, painting moved beyond the temple walls, and the use of *oil on canvas* became widespread. This allowed for the creation of much larger paintings, leading to monumental altarpieces.
Religious themes became extraordinarily diversified, with clear differences observed between painting in Catholic and Protestant countries. Catholic art emphasized themes rejected by Protestants.
Secular subjects also became widespread, including:
- Landscapes
- Still Lifes
- Naval Battles
- Domestic Scenes
- Portraits (individual or group)