Baroque Art - by Irene Earls (Hardcover)

About the Book

The major topics painted and sculpted during the 17th century are featured here. Baroque artists chose stories not only from the Bible but also from mythology; these are not included in art history texts. In this volume, one finds the primary sources: The Golden Legend, the Bible, Ovid, and Plutarch, to name a few. Each entry concludes with an example of a work depicting the topic under examination (Diana Hunting, Lot and His Daughters, for instance) along with a readily available source where the work is pictured. The only reference of its type for art students, this is a companion piece for the author's earlier (Greenwood, 1987).

The turbulent 17th century resulted in two main artistic styles: an expressionistic, sensual kind of emotional outpouring and a silent, classical mode of the highest possible decorum. These styles focused on topics that were mostly mythological or religious: maenads, satyrs, and nymphs pouring wine, carrying baskets of flowers, and lounging at a mythological event; angels shown in the heavens or with the characters on earth. Art students until now have not had a single source that attempts to describe the topics of this intensely artistic age with artists as different in approach as Bernini and Rembrandt. Direct quotes from primary sources including the ^IBible^R and Ovid enrich the descriptive material. Extensive cross-referencing adds to the user-friendly aspect of the dictionary.

Book Synopsis

The major topics painted and sculpted during the 17th century are featured here. Baroque artists chose stories not only from the Bible but also from mythology; these are not included in art history texts. In this volume, one finds the primary sources: The Golden Legend, the Bible, Ovid, and Plutarch, to name a few. Each entry concludes with an example of a work depicting the topic under examination (Diana Hunting, Lot and His Daughters, for instance) along with a readily available source where the work is pictured. The only reference of its type for art students, this is a companion piece for the author's earlier (Greenwood, 1987).

The turbulent 17th century resulted in two main artistic styles: an expressionistic, sensual kind of emotional outpouring and a silent, classical mode of the highest possible decorum. These styles focused on topics that were mostly mythological or religious: maenads, satyrs, and nymphs pouring wine, carrying baskets of flowers, and lounging at a mythological event; angels shown in the heavens or with the characters on earth. Art students until now have not had a single source that attempts to describe the topics of this intensely artistic age with artists as different in approach as Bernini and Rembrandt. Direct quotes from primary sources including the ^IBible^R and Ovid enrich the descriptive material. Extensive cross-referencing adds to the user-friendly aspect of the dictionary.

Review Quotes

"Clearly written...providing subject backgrounds of works of art for art-history students who may need iconographical information...The information that Baroque Art...provide[s] on popular subjects and works of art...will be useful in museum, academic, and large public libraries where art-history material is in demand."-Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin

?Clearly written...providing subject backgrounds of works of art for art-history students who may need iconographical information...The information that Baroque Art...provide[s] on popular subjects and works of art...will be useful in museum, academic, and large public libraries where art-history material is in demand.?-Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin

?The guide is helpful for readers unfamiliar with Baroque art and topics associated with it....A good addition to a comprehensive art reference collection or the reference collection of an undergraduate library.?-Choice

"The guide is helpful for readers unfamiliar with Baroque art and topics associated with it....A good addition to a comprehensive art reference collection or the reference collection of an undergraduate library."-Choice

About the Author

IRENE EARLS, a Professor at the University of Florida, teaches advanced placement Art History to academically gifted high school students. She is the author of Renaissance Art: A Topical Dictionary (Greenwood, 1987) and Napoleon III L'Architecte et l'Urbaniste de Paris (1991).