Baroque Art

Baroque Art is a very simple in terms of subject matter. The artists would paint ordinary scenes of ordinary people, quite different than the Renaissance art of mainly religious figures, or the earlier paintings of high class people only. Now, paintings would show ordinary peasants, a cleaning maid, meat hanging from the ceiling. These paintings were called genre paintings. The subjects would usually be placed somewhere remotely close to the middle and have light, bright colors to contrast the dark backgrounds. Some of the paintings did not even have backgrounds besides the color black or another deep tone. this was to draw the eye to the subject being portrayed, almost glowing itself. One of the most famous artists of the time was Jean-Baptise Simeon Chardin who delighted in painting average objects, showed changes of color and light, and had brush strokes that depicted the beauty hidden in a commonplace, usually with a calm atmosphere. My favorite painting by Chardin that I have seen so far has been Boy Playing with Cards. For me, this painting reminds the viewers of the good times, where one did not have a Care in the world, and could relax by completing a task with no purpose behind it. The background is one grey color, letting the boy stand out even more. His expression is relaxed and happy, yet the most amazing part of this piece are the cards and their folds. The drawer pokes out right at the onlooker, the velvet can be felt with the eyes as well as the coins, the wood, the clothing, the paper cards, the skin. Texture is my favorite element of art to capture, and Chardin does more than capture it. No even a photograph could put such clarity on those textures; it simply stupefies me.
Other artwork are architecture, holding most Baroque characteristic in the facade, or front of the building. This front holds many concave and convex curves to promote mood and drama.
As we drew our still life with certain Baroque symbols in the picture, I could not have been happier. Some symbols include bubbles to represent life and how fast death approaches, skulls to show death, and rotten fruit to show change. After drawing this, we must redraw it using oil pastels, which I have not yet mastered, so it will be a trying task. I cannot wait to test my abilities more and see the final result!