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From Baroque to Rococo
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In such a climate, both the production of and interest in art
flourished. As the emphasis on Baroque diminished and became
fragmented, the role of art ceased to be seen as a tool of influence
and persuasion. Increasingly, art was required to fulfil the purely
aesthetic function of translating and communicating thought through
beauty. For the Venetian Francesco Algarotti (1712-64) and other
18th-century artistic theorists and patrons, the word "beauty" had
the precise meaning of graceful and pleasing forms. This was ideally
expressed in elegant and beautifully rendered paintings, exemplified
by the vivacious and charming allegorical portraits by
Jean-Marc
Nattier (1685-1766). Within a comparatively short period, the
Baroque evolved into High Baroque, also known as Rococo, especially
when applied
to architecture and the decorative arts. The term "Rococo", derived
from the French rocaille, was originally applied to a type of
decoration with asymmetrical, sinuous, and convoluted lines. Later,
the name acquired a deliberately mocking connotation. Strictly
speaking, rocaille denoted an agglomeration of stones,
whether real or artificial, shells, and other materials that
mimicked natural objects and structures. Stylistically, it was
inspired by shapes and objects found in nature, usually
complementary to Arcadian themes, and congruent with the tastes of
the fashionable and elite circles. Through the contribution of
Juste-Aurele Meissonnier (1695-1750), an aesthetic theorist and
designer, the Rococo style became highly in vogue during the Regency
of the Duke of Orleans (1715-23). It reached its peak, however,
during the reign of Louis XV (1743-74). when it influenced every
form of artistic activity and became synonymous with the Pompadour
style, named after the king's famous and highly influential mistress
Madame de Pompadour.
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THE GRAND TOUR
Although travelling for pleasure and instruction was already enjoyed
by the privileged classes, the 18th century saw a rise in the
popularity of the Grand Tour. This was a tour of the chief cities
and sights of Europe to complete a young persons education. The
favourite destination was Italy, of their travels. They purchased
original paintings or less expensive copies and commissioned new
works. Venetian townscapes were highly sought after, especially
those by Canaletto, as were views of famous cities, Rome and Naples
in particular. Heroic-scenes and Arcadian landscapes were also very
popular, as were views of contemporary festivals and street scenes,
such as those by Joseph Heintz (1600-78), Philipp Hackert
(1737-1807), and Giovan Paolo Pannini.
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Joseph
Heintz
(b Augsburg, c. 1600; d Venice, 24 Sept
1678).
Painter and etcher, son of Joseph Heintz. He served his
apprenticeship (1617–21) as a painter with his stepfather, Matthäus
Gundelach, in Augsburg. His artistic beginnings are traceable in
drawings produced in Augsburg (e.g. the Painter at his Easel,
1621; Gdansk, N. Mus.), and Venice (e.g. Genius of Painting,
1625; Vienna, Albertina). His great panel painting Christ in
Limbo (late 1620s or early 1630s; sold London, Sotheby’s, 6 July
1994, lot 4391) bears witness to his conversion to Catholicism,
without which he could hardly have established himself in Venice. He
probably spent long periods in Rome in the 1630s or 1640s, and
before 1644 Urban VIII made him a Knight of the Golden Spur. Many of
his paintings on religious themes, including works supporting the
Counter-Reformation, were predominantly for churches in Venice and
its dominions. However, his special importance for Venetian painting
lies not in the field of religious art but in his depictions (mostly
Venice, Bib. Correr) of the city’s festivities and state ceremonies,
featuring large numbers of figures, in which he was a direct
precursor of Luca Carlevaris and Canaletto, as revealed especially
in his Piazza S Marco (after 1640; Rome, Gal. Doria-Pamphili).
Presumably he knew of the similar endeavours of his cousin Joseph
Plepp (1595–1642) in Berne. He also produced genre paintings, such
as the Fishmonger (1650s; Italy) votive pictures, including
the Adoration of the Magi (?1669) and Sacra conversazione
(1669; both Breguzzo, S Andrea); allegories, for example the
Allegory of Venice (1674; Vienna, Ksthist. Mus.); pictures
showing the activities of the months and mythological scenes of
which there is so far only a literary record.
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Joseph HeintzImaginary Scene with Venetian Buildings
Oil on canvas1670-1675
70
3/4
x 111 inches (180 x 282 cm)
Private collection
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Joseph Heintz
The Bull Hunt in Campo San Polo
Oil on canvas, 1646
Museo Correr, Venice
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Philipp
Hackert
(b Prenzlau, 1737; dSan Pietro di Careggi, 1807).
He studied first with his father, Philipp Hackert, then from 1755 with
Blaise Nicolas Le Sueur at the Berlin Akademie. There he
encountered, and copied, the landscapes of Dutch artists and of
Claude Lorrain. The latter influence shows in two works exhibited in
1761, views of the Lake of Venus in the Berlin Zoological Garden
(versions of 1764 in Stockholm, Nmus.). These much admired paintings
retain a rather rigid late Baroque style. Hackert’s main interest in
these early works was to arrive at a special understanding of a
place through alternate views, with reverse directions of
observation. This systematic documentation bears witness to his
interest in the study of nature.
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Philipp Hackert
Italienische Landschaft
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Philipp Hackert
Landschaft mit Tempelruinen auf Sizilien
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Philipp Hackert
Kustenlandschaft
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Philipp Hackert
Ansicht des Golfes von Baja
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Philipp Hackert
Die groben Wasserfalle in Tivoli
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Giovanni Paolo
Panini
(b Piacenza, 17 June 1691; d Rome, 21 Oct 1765).
Italian painter, architect and stage designer. He was a highly
prolific and versatile painter, best known for his numerous
vedute of Rome, many of which focused on the remnants of the
city’s Classical past. Ceremonies and festivals often feature in his
vedute, which thus constitute a lively documentation of
contemporary topography, lifestyle and customs. In contrast to
Bernardo Bellotto and Gaspar van Wittel, his treatment is
picturesque rather than rigorous; he liked to enliven and animate
his views by adding numerous figures. He worked exclusively in Rome
and by the end of his career was the head of a thriving workshop
that included the Frenchman Hubert Robert (in Rome from 1754) and
Panini’s son Francesco Panini (b 1738).
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Giovan Paolo Pannini
Interior of the Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome
c. 1730
Oil on canvas, 78 x 90 cm
The Hermitage, St. Petersburg
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Giovan Paolo Pannini
Picture Gallery with Views of Modern Rome
1757
Oil on canvas
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
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Giovan Paolo Pannini
The Piazza and Church of Santa Maria Maggiore
1744
Oil on canvas
Palazzo Quirinale, Rome
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Giovan Paolo Pannini
Musical Fete
1747
Oil on canvas, 207 x 247 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris
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Giovan Paolo Pannini
Roma Antica
c. 1755
Oil on canvas, 186 x 227 cam
Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart
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Giovan Paolo Pannini
Apostle Paul Preaching on the Ruins
1744
Oil on canvas, 64 x 83,5 cm
The Hermitage, St. Petersburg
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Giovan Paolo Pannini
Capriccio of Classical Ruins
1725-30
Oil on canvas, 123 x 132 cm
Private collection
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Giovan Paolo Pannini
Ideal Landscape with the Titus Arch
Oil on canvas, 73 x 95 cm
Private collection
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see collection:
Jean-Marc
Nattier
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