The Baroque Period Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Baroque Period - Essay Example The art forms of the period are characterized as intense, immediate, and individualist (Sullivan). These characteristics were achieved through the manipulation of movement and energy of the paintings and sculptures. Most of the themes of the art forms were mainly of considerable action and lively momentum. For a case in point, consider Gianlorenzo Bernini’s David (1623). This marble sculpture was set at a dynamic point, the moment at which David was about to hurl the sling. At such point of action, Bernini added emotion by carving it out of David’s face, revealing enthusiasm, and fury out of the sculpture. As most of the figures of the Baroque, Bernini’s subject was a human figure. Naturalism was still a general attribute of baroque art, and science gradually influenced art pieces. This could be seen in David’s elaborate details of the body structure. In paintings, the same characteristics could be observed. In Caravaggio’s representation of Christ from the cross, Entombment (1603), the depicted scene shows a sense of movement and emotions. The painting engages the viewer into sympathizing with the subjects through the evident emotions depicted in the faces and movements of the figures. The emotion of the moment was captured as well through the manipulation of light, which is also an attribute of Baroque period. Such paintings were commissioned by the church to draw people into returning to the Catholic Church at the time of the Counter-Reformation.The architecture of the period was grand, like the energy.