Description
“I wish I had an angelic brush… to shape the archangel.”
– Guido RENI (1575-1642), Italian painter – 1635.
The “baroque” evokes the vigorous style which dominates art and architecture of the XVIIth century. Appeared in Rome, it spread to European Catholic countries, due to its close link with the Counter-Reformation.
At the end of the 16th century, the Mannerist style became lifeless and forced. While artists are more attached to brilliance than to the authenticity of feeling, the Baroque marks the return to grandeur and virtuosity. However, it borrows from mannerism However, he borrows from mannerism the intensity of emotions and the sense of movement. It also takes the franchise of the High Renaissance, to give birth to a fresh and dynamic style. This new artistic expression fits in with religious history, since in the middle of the 16th century, the Catholic Church had to reassert its authority in the face of the spread of the Protestant ideas of Luther and Calvin – referred to as the Counter-Reformation.
17th century French school
In the 17th century, France became the most powerful country in Europe and she began to challenge Italy for the primacy of the visual arts. Some dynamic aspects of Italian Baroque are introduced in France. Nonetheless, they are mitigated by the classical dignity that permeates much of French art.
French painters travel to Rome to explore Italian craftsmanship. They study the art of Antiquity and the Renaissance, then they return to France to spread the knowledge of the Baroque. While in Italy, baroque art is essentially religious, it is made “masterful” by Louis XIV who places it at the service of the French state or more precisely, to the glorification of his person. In France, baroque art appears in its purest form when it deals with the decoration of churches. The rich materials, the altarpieces spectacular, the grandiose frescoes adorning the walls and ceilings match the rites of Catholic worship.
The two most famous French painters, Claude Lorrain and Nicolas Poussin, work mainly in Rome. They exert a strong influence on French art and its schools by bringing an ideal of dignity and classic sobriety, intended to mark in depth.
Analysis
Angel of the Annunciation, of the Resurrection, of Mercy and of Death, the Archangel Gabriel is named “the Messenger” in the New Testament. Its name – derived from the Hebrew “Gabar” – means divine strength and power.
Archangel Gabriel is one of the 7 Archangels considered to be the pillars of the creation of the world. He is part – with the angels Michael and Raphael – of the 3 angels who refuse to follow Lucifer in his rebellion against God. He is also chosen by God to be his messenger to men. It is the angel Gabriel who reveals himself to Mary to announce the birth of Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit. This bearer of the greatest prophecies of Judeo-Christianity occupies a special place in the celestial and angelic world.
Archangel Gabriel also appears in the Muslim religion under the name of Jibril. He would have quoted to Muhammad the verses of the Koran after appearing to him in a cloud of light. Muslims see Jibril as the angel of truth who brings the prophet to heaven.
Among the Hebrews, the Archangel Gabriel is a woman; he would be the only female archangel in the entire angelic hierarchy.
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The angel lives in the history of the visual arts. The angel inhabits the history of the visual arts, and this winged figure is found in Greek, Mesopotamian and Etruscan art – which probably inspired future artistic culture – especially that of the Byzantines, Romans, and Judeo. Christians.
The first Christian image of an angel is in the Cubicolo dell ‘Annunziazione in the Catacomb of Priscilla – located in the Trieste district of Rome. Dated from the middle of the 3rd century AD, the representation of angels on sarcophagi and reliquaries from this period shows them without wings.
The artwork and its composition
This painting is part of the tradition of “religious” baroque, born in Rome under the brushwork of Caravaggio and Annibal Carracci. While religion provided the bulk of artistic inspiration in Europe to glorify its regained power in the face of the Protestant threat, portraits – allegorical, mythological, mystical – and religious genre scenes gained increasing consideration for painters of the United States. ‘time.
The theme of the Annunciation, widely covered in the Renaissance, is approached with the same grace.
His sensitivity accords with the expression of religious fervor. Heavenly light – suave and sustained at the same time – brings relief and beauty to the face of the angel Gabriel, while the supernatural colors accentuate the emotional impact desired to serve spiritual passion.
In a mannerist posture, pure naturalism, and classical grandeur, the theatricality of this work expresses the emotional frankness coveted by Baroque painting. It also reveals the serene balance of High Renaissance painting – through its beauty, harmony and technical success.
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