Baroque Era

Peter Paul Rubens, "Descent from the Cross"

The Baroque era was the art movement that is passionate, high contrast, and theatrical. Baroque is the art movement after the Renaissance art movement. Renaissance art was about reason, simplicity, and calmness, Baroque was the opposite. Baroque was about energy, complex, and emotion (Getlein 389).

Caravaggio, "Entombment of Christ"

Artists from the Baroque era painted their subjects like a theatre placement. Painters would paint the subject in dramatic lighting and giving a dark backdrop. Caravaggio's "Entombment of Christ" is a great example of the Baroque era composition and lighting (Getlein 391). The painting makes you feel like you are in a theatre witnessing Christ's entombment. The dramatic lighting highlights the figures' emotions. The background is completely black, which emphasizes the figures's emotions. Grief and their light in the world is gone. This painting is a moment in time, frozen and placed perfectly.

Peter Paul Rubens, "Massacre of the Innocents"

Peter Paul Rubens, one of the most well-known artist from the Baroque era. Peter Paul Rubens is a master in capturing the emotion and movement simultaneously. "Massacre of the Innocents" is a great example of his style. Massacre of the Innocents is a biblical story about Herod the Great ordering the execution of all young male children in Bethlehem, so he will not be overthrown from his throne to a newborn King of the Jews. Men in the action of tearing the babies and children out of the mother's arms. The tearing of a man's face from a mother desperately trying to save her child. The dramatic lighting illuminates the expressions of the figures. Desperation, unimaginable grief, fear, and terror are the emotions caught from Rubens's "Massacre of the Innocents."

Another example of Peter Paul Rubens's perfection capturing the movements and emotions of his figures is "Descent from the Cross". A tryptic of the events from removing Jesus Christ off the cross. Jesus's body is limp and lifeless. The man at the top is reaching out for Jesus like he dropped him and about to tumble over. The light is cast over the figures with the dark background. The emotional woman about to grasp Jesus's body. Peter Paul Ruben's is a master in capturing the movement and emotion of his subjects like he took a moment out of a play.

 Baroque era was an art movement that abandoned the Renaissance thought of calm and reasoning. Baroque was loud, dramatic, passionate, and emotional like the theatre. The canvas was a stage. Dramatic lighting and dark backgrounds were prevalent in the Baroque era characteristics.