Chapter 25: The Baroque in Northern EuropeChapter Sheet

Preview: This chapter surveys art in the Netherlands, Flanders, France and England produced in the 17th century. Catholic Flanders remained under Spanish control in this period, and its art is close in spirit to the Baroque art of Italy. The leading Flemish Baroque painter is Peter Paul Rubens, who executed commissions for an international clientele. The Treaty of Westphalia granted the Dutch Republic independence from Spain in 1648, and its predominantly Protestant citizens, including a growing middle class, commissioned portraits, genre scenes, still lifes and landscapes. Frans Hals specialized in lively, inventive portrait arrangements, while Rembrandt van Rijn, who is regarded as the greatest Dutch artist of the era, treated a wide range of subjects in paintings and prints. In France, Louis XIV was the major patron, commissioning artworks for the enormous palace complex he built at Versailles, which exhibits a blend of Italian Baroque and French classical styles. Nicolas Poussin and Claude Lorraine were widely recognized for classical paintings. In England, architects Inigo Jones and Christopher Wren enjoyed international fame for buildings such as Wren’s Saint Paul’s in London, which blend Italian Renaissance, Baroque, and French classical styles.

List of Artworks (23 Cards Total)

  1. Context Card Baroque in Northern Europe
  2. Pieter Claesz, Vanitas Still Life, 1630s—Pg. 694-95,
  3. Peter Paul Rubens, Elevation of the Cross, from Saint Walburga, Antwerp, 1610—pg.698
  4. Peter Paul Rubens, Arrival of Marie de’ Medici at Marseilles, 1622-1625—pg. 699
  5. Anthony Van Dyck, Charles I Dismounted, ca. 1635—pg. 701
  6. Clara Peeters, Still Life with Flowers, Goblet, Dried Fruit, and Pretzels, 1611—Pg. 701
  7. Gerrit van Honthorst, Supper Party, 1620—Pg. 703
  8. Frans Hals, Archers of Saint Hadrian, ca. 1633—pg. 704
  9. Judith Leyster, Self-Portrait, ca. 1630—pg. 705
  10. Rembrandt van Rijn, Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp, 1632—pg. 706
  11. Rembrandt van Rijn, The Company of Captian Frans Banning Cocq (Night Watch), 1642—pg. 707
  12. Rembrandt van Rijn, Self-Portrait, 1659-1660—pg. 708
  13. Rembrandt van Rijn, Christ with the Sick around Him, Receiving the Children (Hundred-Guilder Print), ca. 1649—pg. 709
  14. Jacob van Ruisdael, View of Haarlem from the Dunes at Overveen, ca. 1670—pg. 710
  15. Jan Vermeer, Woman Holding a Balance, ca. 1664—pg. 711
  16. Jan Vermeer, Allegory of the Art of Painting, 1670-1675—pg. 712
  17. Willem Kalf, Still Life with a Late Ming Ginger Jar, 1669—pg. 713
  18. Rachel Ruysch, Flower Still Life, after 1700—pg. 713
  19. Hyacinthe Rigaud, Louis XIV, 1701—pg. 714
  20. Claude Perrault, Louis Le Vau, and Charles Le Brun, east façade of the Louvre, Paris, France, 1667-1670—pg. 714
  21. Aerial view of the palace and gardens, Versailles, France, begun 1669—pg.715
  22. Jules Hardouin-Mansart and Charles Le Brun, Galerie des Glaces (Hall of Mirrors), palace of Versailles, Versailles, France, ca. 1680—pg. 716
  23. Jules Hardouin-Mansart, interior of the Royal Chapel, with ceiling decorations by Antoine Coypel, palace of Versailles, Versailles, France, 1698-1710—pg. 717
  24. Nicolas Poussin, Et in Arcadia Ego, ca. 1566—pg. 719
  25. Nicholas Poussin, Landscape with Saint John on Patmos, 1640—pg. 720
  26. Georges de La Tour, Adoration of the Shepherds, 1645-1650—pg. 723

Key Figures: Louis XIV, Marie de’ Medici

Key Cultural Terms & Events: Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648), Treaty of Westphalia (1648), Calvinism, Protestantism

Key Art Terms: vanitas, still life, memento mori, camera obscura, classical paintings, “grand manner” painting, fleur-de-lis, breakfast piece, flower paintings, genre scenes, monochromatic, etching

Exercises for Study:

1. Select a painting by Peter Paul Rubens, and describe the features it shares with Italian Late Renaissance and Baroque painting styles.

2. Describe Rembrandt’s innovation in rendering light, in both paintings and in prints.

3. What historical factors account for the large demand for secular artworks, including genre scenes, still lifes, portraits and landscapes in the Dutch Republic in the 17th century?