HKMoA: Baroque Art Masterpieces from Capodimonte Museum, Part 1
A partial collection of Baroque Art masterpieces from Capodimonte Museum is on display at Hong Kong Museum of Art from July 15th to November 2nd. The exhibition features remarkable works from two major collections: Renaissance paintings from the northern and central Italian Farnese Collection and Baroque paintings from the Bourbon Collection. The exhibition intends to demonstrate the rich history of 16th to 18th-century European art to Hong Kong audience.
Baroque Art
Baroque Art is a highly embellished style of art influenced by revived Renaissance and Classical ideals of beauty. It was an expansive art movement that happened throughout Europe from 16th to 18th century. It affected the artworks of Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Austria, and Southern Germany. The particular traits were infused into various genres of visual art, including painting, sculpture, architecture, and even music. Visual traits of Neapolitan (Baroque Art) paintings include dramatic contrast, realistic depiction, literary references through biblical and mythological subjects, sensual richness, strong emotions, and a sumptuous color scheme.
The art movement occurred as a consequence of religious tension between Protestants in power and the Catholic Church seeking to re-establish authority. One of the agendas of the Catholic Church was to bring images of worship back to the public. Church believed that installing monumental religious paintings of dramatic visuals not only encourages piety towards God from believers but also inspires awe in Church. To implement their agenda, Church authorities commissioned artists to paint on large-scale frescoes of ceilings and vaults of Church and palaces.
Notable Techniques
Chiaroscuro: treatment of dark and light to create contrast. Devised by Caravaggio, a master of Baroque Art. His technique is indeed the backbone of immersive Neapolitan paintings. It had a lasting influence on artists of his generation and his descendants.
Tenebrism: increase in contrast to emphasize a particular element
Renaissance paintings of Farnese Collection
Farnese Collection was named after the real last name of Pope Paul III. As a Church authority with the ambition of ascension to the papacy, he collected and commissioned art as a strategy. He believed that his policy was an expression of knowledge, power, and status. He sponsored Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, and more.
At the exhibition, two types of subjects were on display: Humanism and Beauty. I decided to discuss paintings of Beauty in depth as they have stronger images and much more interesting stories behind them. Both of the artworks below feature feminine beauty as a subject. Humanists perceived beauty as a manifestation of moral character. Depicting it as an expression of truth and virtue.
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Original article: Baroque Art Masterpieces from Capodimonte Museum, Part 1
Part 2: Baroque Art Masterpieces from Capodimonte Museum, Part 2
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