During the 17th century a new and exuberant style was developed called Baroque Baroque art demonstrated persuasion absolutism as well as other elements such as grandeur sensual richness emotional exuberance tension movement The Catholic church often used art to counter against the Protestant Reformation which canonized Baroque art and made it a style of persuasion Because Baroque art reflected the power of states ruled by autocratic powers it became the style of absolutism where the rule was absolute between a single or multiple body of people To express the grandeur and absolutism of Baroque art grand palaces were built for their aristocratic owners Scientists such as Nicolaus Copernicus Johannes Kepler and Galileo Galilei challenged our way of thinking by which started a scientific revolution Baroque Painting Italy As Rome became the center of art during the Renaissance the were the pillar of Baroque art during the 1600s The papacy new church orders private patrons and influential families commissioned a large body of Baroque artwork in order to elevate their status and make Rome the most prominent city for God and the church Caravaggio One of the most innovative artists of the 17th century was Michelangelo Merisi Caravaggio His original style of painting his use of lighting subjects and naturalism greatly influenced how painting was made throughout this time period One of Caravaggio s most important and first commissions was to paint three canvases with the subject of St Matthew for the Contarelli Chapel in the church of San Luigi dei Francesi Of the three canvases the main image The Calling of St Matthew which depicts Matthew being chosen by Christ Although it is a religious piece Caravaggio s use an extreme or radical new way in setting the subject in a naturalistic or everyday setting The luminous and strategically placed beam of sunlight against the dark background is used to create a tenebrism effect The tenebrism style became the staple of Caravaggio s compositions which is demonstrated his piece called The Conversion of St Paul Caravaggio s use of light against the nearly black background is used to reveal the subjects and shock the viewer Besides his use of tenebrism Caravaggio is also known for painting young men musicians in sensual and erotic terms This demonstrated in his piece titled The Musicians which depicts four androgynous young male musicians in a sensual setting Artemisia Gentileschi A Female Innovator The first woman to become an important painter of the 17th century and join the Accademia of Disgenia in Florence was Artemisia Gentileschi However because she was a woman she faced many trials in the professional art world Her best known subjects represent biblical heroines that were popular during the Baroque period such as Bathsheba and Judith It is believed that Artemisia abhorred men because of the way she was treated by them and due to her frequent representations of women in her paintings One of Gentileschi s independent and dramatic large works is Judith and Her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes The painting is often compared to David and Goliath however instead of a victory of virtue and innocence the victory by Judith is sometimes shrouded in deceit The tenebrism gives a sense of mystery to enhance the setting and complex emotions of Judith One of Gentileschi s most innovative pieces is Self Portrait as the Allegory of Painting In this self portrait Artemisia surpasses the limitations of male painters as she represents herself as the allegorical female figure of Painting La Pittura In the Self Portrait as the Allegory of Painting Gentileschi not only represent herself in the painting but a cumulation of paintings and the appreciation of artists during this time Ceiling Frescos Illusionistic systems Gianlorenzo Bernini and Giovanni Battista Gaulli After the completion of Cortona s Allegory of Divine Providence few ceiling frescos were made because the new style architectures did not allow for decorations However the creation of ceiling frescos was revived in 1670 making the Baroque period the primary period that is associated with ceiling frescos One of the century s greatest architects and sculptors Gianlorenzo Bernini commissioned his apprentice Giovanni Battista Gaulli to design a ceiling fresco for Il Ges Gaulli s ceiling fresco for the Il Gesu became one of the most expressive pieces associated with Baroque illusionism Baroque Sculpture Bernini David Like Baroque painting Baroque sculpture was often rich emotional dynamic and turbulent Gianlorenzo Bernini a sculptor and architect was an artist who drew inspiration from the Mannerist period Bernini s David has qualities drawing from the Hellenistic period which gives the sculpture a dynamic turbulent and fierce expression Although Michelangelo s David is more tempered in movement and expression both representations show what lessons each artists took from the arts of antiquity Bernini s David demonstrates how Baroque art communicates with the surrounding space Unlike Renaissance art Baroque art is designed to be scene from the frontal view Bernini The Ecstasy of Teresa Besides being a sculptor and an architect Bernini also designed innovative scenes for theatres Using his abilities as a sculptor architect and painter Bernini designed The Ecstasy of Teresa for the Cornaro Chapel in the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria Bernini made Teresa which was later canonized in the sensuous manner of Jupiter and Io To set the stage Bernini made faux theatre boxes on the sides of the chapel which have relief figures of the Cornaro family Lastly Bernini creates a ceiling fresco to demonstrate the infinite space in of Heaven above the stage Because of Bernini s interests in religion and theatrical or expressive art his innovative ideas led to the theatrical display of religions art in the Baroque period