Significant Artistic Works from the Enlightenment
Jan Brueghel the Elder was a Flemish painter who, in conjunction with Peter Paul Rubens, painted The Allegory of Sight and Smell in 1620 as part of a set that…
Jan Bruegel (1568-1625)
Jan Brueghel the Elder was a Flemish painter who, in conjunction with Peter Paul Rubens, painted The Allegory of Sight and Smell in 1620 as part of a set that attempted to explore the five senses through painting.[1] An allegory is when the depicted figures represent a more abstract but profound meaning, usually moral like love, sin, or justice.[2] Here, smell is represented by the flowers being smelled, while sight is shown pondering her own reflection accampined by cherubs.[3]
Allegory of Sight and Smell, Jan Bruegel. [4]
Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)
Also a Flemish artist, Rubens was known for his dramatic baroque paintings. Around 1630, he painted Peace and War, reflecting his goal as envoy for Philip IV attempting to negotiate peace with England.[5] In the painting, the wisdom goddess Minerva pushes back the war god Mars and Alecto, the personification of the fury of war.[6] This allows a cupid and Hymen, the god of marriage, to lead children to a cornucopia and peace everlasting.[7]
Ruben's Peace and War. [8]
Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665)
A French painter who moved to Rome, Poussin was drawn by the classical baroque style and was called the Raphel of our time for his masterful use of color and perspective.[9] Completed in 1627, The Death of Germanicus is one of the triumphs of his career. It depicts a young Roman general, Germanicus, who has just been poisoned by his adoptive father; on his deathbed, he begs his friend to avenge him.[10] The painting is famous because it presents the ideal of stoic heroism and it would set a precedent for deathbed scenes for the next two hundred years.[11]
The Death of Germanicus, Nicolas Poussin. [12]
Artemisia Gentileschi (1594-1665)
Artemisia Gentileschi was a devout follower of Caravaggio who strove to imitate him in the early Italian baroque style. In 1616, she was the first woman to be accepted into the Florentine Academy of Fine Arts. Eventually, she and her husband separated, allowing her freedom and independence rarely associated with women of the time.[13] Completed in 1620, one of her most influential paintings, Judith Slaying Holofernes, follows the classic Jewish story of Judith and Holofernes, the general of King Nebuchadnezzar. In order to save her people, Judith murders Holofernes in his sleep. While other painters—including her inspiration, Caravaggio—depicted Judith as detached, Gentileschi focused on Judith’s bravery and determination, with Holofernes looking more surprised than afraid. Gentileschi shows the viewer all the gruesome detail to produce a scene that is nothing short of terrifying. Holofernes screams as he desperately fights for his life; Judith frowns in concentration, her entire body radiating steely determination as blood drenches the bed.[14] The painting is significant because it depicts a woman out of the traditional role, full of power and capacity rather then the docile role typically assigned to her by society.
Judith Slaying Holofernes, Gentileschi. [15]
Diego Velasquez (1599-1660)
A Spanish painter who was at the forefront of portraits and still lifes, Diego specialized in capturing important people and important events. His work served as inspiration for later realist and impressionist painters.[16] His most celebrated work is Las Meninas, painted in Spain in 1656; the work shows the princess of Spain being attended by her maids of honor and advisors on the back wall, with a self-portrait of Velasquez painting. The work is so extraordinary because it manages to make a formal royal painting seem spontaneous and informal, lending humanity and normalcy to the back rooms of power.[17]
Las Meninas, Diego Velasquez. [18]
Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669)
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn had an unparalleled and profoundly moving ability to capture the humanity of his subjects—and nature—in his oil paintings. The viewer feels a connection to the subject that is exceedingly rare in historical art.[19] His most famous work is The Night Watch. Completed in 1642, the painting is very specific to the northern Netherlands and the city of Amsterdam. Local militias were in charge of maintaining order, policing the streets, putting out fires, and enforcing laws. Each militia had their own guild and command structure. At the height of his power and fame, Rembrandt was commissioned by the Kloveniersdoelen guild hall under the command of Captain Frans Banning Cocq. Rather than painting a standard line-up of notable members with officers in front and enlisted men in back, Rembrandt painted the militia out on patrol, breathing life into the scene and giving it a human depth and perspective.[20]
This video is an expert deconstruction by the Yale University Art gallery[21].
The Night Watch, Rembrandt. [22]
Gerard Ter Borch (1617-1681)
Born in Zwolle in the Netherlands, Gerard ter Borch the Younger quickly became an accomplished painter. His skill lay in his ability to inject psychological sensitivity into his work, and to focus on and celebrate the finer points of upright Dutch society.[23] The Parental Admonition depicts three people in a bedchamber. One girl (possibly a daughter) in a beautiful satin dress is being addressed by the sitting man while in the presence of another. Experts disagree as to what the sitting man is saying—it could be an innocent proposal or a sharp rebuke—but the woman’s face and reaction remain hidden.[24]
The Parental Admonition, Gerard Ter Borch. [25]
Giovanni Antonio Canale (1697-1768)
Born in Venice, Canale was a master of landscapes. His gift was to capture grand places and moments, then be able to reproduce them months or years after first seeing them.[26] Completed in 1627, one of his greatest works is *The Reception of the French Ambassador, *a monumental portrait of the French Ambassador arriving in Venice.[27]
The Reception of the French Ambassador, Canale. [28]
William Hogarth (1697-1764)
Born in London, Hogarth shunned contemporary art and instead printed and painted satire of modern English customs. He is widely considered the father of political satire and comedy.[29] One of his most influential works was the election series, a set of etchings inspired by the political corruption of the 1754 election between the liberal Whig Party and the conservative Tory Party to win Oxfordshire’s parliamentary seats. The Election Entertainment depicts a Whig banquet full of waste and excess, the mayor is seen being bled after too many oysters, the two candidates on the left are comically out of sorts, and an election agent has taken a brick to the head from the rival Troy mob outside.[30]
Plate I: Four Prints of an Election
Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792)
Born in Britten in 1723, Reynolds became the most significant English portraitist of his day and he elevated the profession to a new level of dignity.[31] His paintings presented an idolized version of their subjects and used them as a medium to convey complex ideas. An example of this is *George Clive and his Family with an Indian Maid *which depicts Robert Clive, the cousin of Lord George Clive who was the founder of the British Empire in India, his wife, and an Indian maid helping his daughter.[32]
George Clive and his Family with an Indian Maid, Sir Joshua Reynolds. [33]
Jean Honore Fragonard (1732-1801)
In many ways, French painter Jean Honore Fragonard embodies the French Enlightenment. His paintings capture all the hedonism, decadence, and eroticism; in the immortal words of Simon Schama, “Rosy bums, romping on frothy pillows.”[34] This is most exemplified in the 1768 painting The Swing, a gaudy, colorful painting that depicts a mischevious woman with her lover hidden in the bushes while another man, likely her husband, pushes her from behind.[35] The absence of hard lines and sharp edges gives the entire painting a dream-like quality, and the inclusion of the cupids and shushing statue give the painting its overtly sexual overtones.[36]
The Swing, Jean Honore Fragonard. [37]
Jan Vermeer (1632-1675)
Born in the Netherlands in 1632, Vermeer is regarded as one of the greatest Dutch painters for his ability to capture life as he saw it, and to form a connection between the viewer and the subject.[38] One of his most celebrated works is Girl with the Pearl Earring; is she turning towards you or away from you? It’s been called the Mona Lisa of the North for its ability to enrapture and captivate the viewer. While his other works display his mastery of perspective, space, light, proportion, and distance, Girl with the Pearl Earring has a completely black background, forcing the viewer's attention entirely onto the subject. Freed from Spanish oppression and made wealthy by the Dutch East India Company, the Dutch merchant-class patrons preferred middle-class subjects like themselves. Her portrait represents the break from traditional subjects and conventions, and the beginning of a new era of art.[39]
Girl with a Pearl Earring, Vermeer. [40]
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Borch, Gerard ter. Three Figures Conversing in an Interior, Known as ‘The Paternal Admonition.’ circa 1654. Oil on canvas, Height: 71 cm (27.9 in); Width: 73 cm (28.7 in). Rijksmuseum. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gerard_ter_Borch_-Interieur_met_drie_figuren_die_met_elkaar_in_gesprek_zijn;bekend_als%27De_vaderlijke_vermaning%27-_Google_Art_Project.jpg.
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Canaletto. The Reception of the French Ambassador Jacques–Vincent Languet, Comte de Gergy at the Doge’s Palace, Venice. from until 1727 1726. Oil on canvas, 181 × 259.5 cm (71.2 × 102.1 in). Hermitage Museum. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Canaletto,_Reception_French_Ambassador_Eremitage_St._Petersburg_02.JPG.
Elder, Jan Brueghel the. English: Allegory of Sight and Smell. second half of 16th century. Oil on panel, Height: 175 cm (68.8 in); Width: 263 cm (103.5 in). Museo del Prado. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jan_Brueghel_(I),Hendrick_van_Balen(I)and_Gerard_Seghers-_Allegory_of_Sight_and_Smell.jpg.
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Fragonard, Jean-Honoré. Deutsch: Die SchaukelEnglish: The Happy Accidents of the SwingEspañol: Los Felices Azares Del ColumpioFrançais : Les Hasards Heureux de l’escarpolette. 1768 1767. Oil on canvas, 81 × 64 cm (31.8 × 25.1 in). Wallace Collection. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fragonard,_The_Swing.jpg.
“Gallant Conversation, Known as ‘The Paternal Admonition’, Gerard Ter Borch (II), c. 1654.” Rijksmuseum. Accessed May 17, 2018. https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/SK-A-404.
Gentileschi, Artemisia. Italian: Giuditta Che Decapita Oloferne. between and 1612 1611. Oil on canvas, 158.8 × 125.5 cm (62.5 × 49.4 in). Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Artemisia_Gentileschi_-Judith_Beheading_Holofernes-_WGA8563.jpg.
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Reynolds, Joshua. George Clive and His Family with an Indian Maid. 1765. Oil on canvas, 140 × 171 cm (55.1 × 67.3 in). Staatliche Museen, Munich. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Reynolds.clive.750pix.jpg.
Rubens, Peter Paul. Minerva Protects Pax from Mars (Peace and War). between and 1630 1629. Oil on canvas, 203.5 × 298 cm (80.1 × 117.3 in). National Gallery. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rubens_peace-war.jpg.
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