Art Unit 4 W.A. Word
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The Artists of the Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo
Department of Humanities, University of the People
AHIST 1401: Art History
Dr. Julie Lawrence
July 13, 2022
Introduction
In this essay, I will explain the aspects of the different styles during the eras, name an
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example of art and explain how the painting reflects the artists' life.
The new Role of Artists
The creators of art started shifting into the middle of society in the 14th century, because
of the rediscovery of Greek and Roman texts, intercommunication between different cultures,
and most importantly, a newly found curiosity about the world around the people of the
Renaissance (Beck, 2018). Some examples of fields of study are human anatomy, perspective,
color, and lighting (Cartwright, 2020).
Renaissance
The word Renaissance is French and means "Rebirth" and applies to the rediscovery of
the before-mentioned Ancient Greek and Roman subject matter, as well as the focus on
architecture and art (The National Gallery, n.d.).
As an example of the Renaissance, I want to discuss "The Large Piece of Turf" by
Albrecht D
ürer. This watercolor painting is known as one of his masterpieces because it is one of
the first that dedicates as much detail and focus on a piece of nature, more specifically some wild
plants such as dandelion. Dürer shows his talent and his keen eye for realism in this painting, as
he uses so many different shades of green and succeeded in creating extremely thin lines, that are
accurate and shading that gives the painting dimension (Harris & Zucker, 2017).
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Baroque
The Baroque era lasted for a little more than a century, from around 1600 to the early
1700s. It started before the era, in 1517 when Martin Luther officially announced his antipathy to
the Catholic Church, calling them corrupt and Rome, the Catholic Capital, "The Whore of
Babylon." Martin Luther, the head of the Protestant Church, voiced his thoughts in the "95
Theses" in which he made clear that he thinks the Catholics abuse their power. The Baroque was
a time of religious and political change that impacted the art of the time. Even though the
Catholics and Protestants came to an agreement with a treaty in 1648, the Baroque still lasted
after.
Baroque art is very realistic, and in my opinion not flattering for the portraited. It is also very
dramatic and the lighting shows strong contrast (Camara, n.d. & Music of the Baroque, n.d.).
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The painting I chose for the Baroque era was created by Sir Godfrey Kneller and is a
portrait of John Churchill from 1706. The painting is a good example of the Baroque style as it
looks very realistic, besides the aspects added in to suggest the dramatic part I mentioned earlier
is to find in Baroque art. The angels above the first Duke of Marlborough see, to bless him as he
sits stoically on his mounting horse, offering something to his subjects of whom the woman
kneels before him, raising an offering to him in both hands. The background shows dead people,
a sword and shield laying under his horse, smoke, and a distressed woman. It all adds to the
dramatic aspect of the painting (Tate, n.d.).
Rococo
The Rococo movement started in France, after the death of Louis XIV in 1715. The
aristocracy, who had 90 percent of the wealth, romanticized the higher class life, and detailed,
ornate decorations displaying luxury and almost a dream-like atmosphere started a new era
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(Harris & Zucker, n.d.).
A painting of the Rococo time, made by Jean-Honore Fragonard from 1750 - 1752, which
is titled "The Shepherdess" is a very good example of the Rococo style. The painting seems like
a utopia, with a young woman, the shepherdess, sitting barefoot on the ground in her aristocratic
dress. The painting is in bright colors and shows a very calm scene, with sheep resting, and a
flower basket at her feet. The young woman has a slight smile on her face (Fragonard, 1750-52).
Anyone who has seen modern-day shepherds or has ever herded sheep themselves knows that
this scene is not very realistic, which matches the Rococo dream-like image. The role of the
shepherdess is romanticized and made look like an easy and desirable pastime.
Conclusion
All three artists I mentioned, Albrecht D
ürer, Sir Godfrey Kneller, and Jean-Honore
Fragonard, were famous artists of their time. Dürer was well-traveled for an artist of his time and
the "large piece of turf" painting shows how unique his point of view was at the time, as no one
made detailed paintings of the natural environment at the time.
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Sir Godfrey Kneller was a sought-after portrait painter for the Baroque Aristocracy. The
painting he made of the first Duke of Marlborough reflects his own standing as the royal class
requested him as their personal portrait artist.
Lastly, Jean-Honore Fragonard was a trained painter who went to an academy to learn the
craft and what style of painting the French aristocracy desired. He also traveled to Italy multiple
times to improve his skills and was well-known under the royals. At least one of his paintings
was shown to Louis XV. The way he painted reflects his personal life as he was not royal himself
but included in the circle because of his skills. His life, therefore, was much closer to the utopian
imagination than the real-life subjects had during this era (Rand, 2009).
References
Beck, E. (2018).
Causes of the Renaissance.
History Crunch.
https://www.historycrunch.com/causes-of-the-renaissance.html#/
Camara, E. (n.d.).
Baroque art in Europe, an introduction.
Khan Academy.
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/renaissance-reformation/baroque-
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art1/beginners-guide-baroque1/a/baroque-art-in-europe-an-introduction
Cartwright, M. (2020).
10 great Renaissance artists.
World History
Encyclopedia.
https://www.worldhistory.org/collection/98/10-great-
renaissance-artists/
Dürer, A. (1503). The large piece of turf.
https://www.kunst-fuer-alle.de/english/fine-
art/artist/image/albrecht-duerer/421/1/606711/the-great-piece-of-turf-
1503/index.htm
Harris, B. & Zucker, S. (n.d.).
The beginnings of Rococo.
Khan Academy.
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/renaissance-reformation/rococo-
neoclassicism/rococo/a/a-beginners-guide-to-rococo-art
Harris, B. &
Zucker
, S.
(2017).
A-level: Albrecht D
ü
rer, The large piece of t
urf
.
Smarthistory.
https://smarthistory.org/albrecht-durer-the-large-piece-of-turf-2/
Music of the Baroque. (n.d.).
About the Baroque period.
https://www.baroque.org/baroque
Rand, R. (2009).
Jean Honoré Fragonard.
National Gallery of Art.
https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.1316.html
Tate. (n.d.).
Illusions of Power in British Baroque.
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-
terms/b/baroque
The National Gallery. (n.d.).
Renaissance.
https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/glossary/renaissance
Fragonard, J.-H. (1750-52).
The Shepherdess.
Wikiart.
https://www.wikiart.org/en/jean-
honore-fragonard/the-shepherdess-1752