Humanities Baroque
Manifestation of the Baroque Period Roughly around the 1600s to 1750s, the Baroque period came to life bringing heightened nature, and more personal and emotional expression to art. It originated in Italy and spread out like a plaque throughout Europe, the Americas, and Spain. Everything from art to literature and even music was more theatrical and was given more emotions. Catholicism was generally being reflected off of the Baroque arts. Dramatic religious paintings were being made Literature was being written in a way that it will be memorable. The King James version of the Bible had major impacts on the arts. It was finished in 1611 and was considered to be the most important change in English literature and printing (Ryken). It was set to transform the entire English language and keep the emotional influence. “The new translation of Scripture preserved the spiritual fervor of the Old Testament Hebrew and the narrative vigor of the New Testament Greek” (Fiero 62). The King James Version was a big part of the Baroque period because it was a piece of literature that had heightened emotional words and could actually be understood correctly by the reader. In Baroque artwork, viewers can visualize the emotional impact the painting has. Everything is in action and the painting is like shot in the middle of what’s going on. In Caravaggio’s The Crucifixion of Saint Peter, everything is painted right in the middle of the crucifixion. Saint Peter is not even up yet but in the middle of getting there. The painting is activated and has complex movements. Gravity has a very powerful pull in this picture as well. Viewers can see the emotion in Saint Peter’s face that he is scared but brave. Caravaggio made sure to tell a story in this painting with emotion since you see a poor, innocent, and homeless looking man being crucified. Everything from the guy’s dirty feet and bottom who hoisting up Saint Peter is basically sticking out to the viewer’s face. The three men do
Cited: Fiero, Gloria K. The Humanistic Tradition, Book 4 Faith, Reason, and Power in the Early Modern World. New York: Mc Graw Hill, 2011. Print. Ryken, Leland. "What Makes the King James Version Great." Reformation 21. Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, Inc, 2011. Web. 26 Apr. 2012.