Looking at the Baroque Period Through the Cultural Frame

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How is the Baroque world and culture reflected in the work of baroque artists? During the 1600's, Europe was struck by religious turmoil. The previously predominate Catholics had been overwhelmed by the rise of the Protestant Church and this had sparked conflict between the two religious powers of the time. War devastated Europe, killing around a third of the population. Eventually the war ended, northern Europe became predominately protestant and southern Europe remained catholic, however tensions were not completely suppressed. The Catholic Church had discussed a means to combat the Protestant reformation and win back its followers. This means was through an artistic style which communicated religious themes through splendour and extravaganza. This artistic movement came to be known as the “Baroque movement”. This world full of rich culture was reflected through artists of the time such as Michelangelo Caravaggio and Gian Lorenzo Bernini who were both artistic geniuses. Michelangelo Merisi de Caravaggio was born in a small town in Milan, Italy on the 29th of December 1571. With far from wealthy family ties, Caravaggio was apprenticed to Milanese painter Simone Peterzano at the age of 13, around the same time as his last parent died. From this point on, Caravaggio was thrown into the violent, shady underworld of the Roman streets exposing him to what would soon become the world that influenced his works. Caravaggio encountered prostitutes, vagabonds, mercenaries and pickpockets who would all soon become the provocative, naturalistic faces that were found in his works. Caravaggio’s various works such as “St John the Baptist in the Wilderness”, “Crowning with Horns” and “Self-portrait as Bacchus” all mirror Caravaggio’s world and culture, which was baroque. “St John the Baptist in the Wilderness”, 1604, oil on canvas 173 x 132cm, is one of Caravaggio’s many
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