'Baroque Pathways' in Potsdam's Museum Barberini
They invented highlighting, thereby revolutionizing painting in Northern Europe: Italian Baroque artists still have an impact even today. The Museum Barberini in Potsdam is showing works by Caravaggio, among others.
'Narcissis'
The narcissist looks at his reflection with rapture. With his skillful play of light, chiaroscuro effects and thematic focus, Caravaggio (1571-1610) is considered the star and pioneer of Baroque painting. His works and those of his successors, which normally hang in the National Gallery of Ancient Art in Rome, will be on display at the Barberini Museum in Potsdam through October 6, 2019.
'Bathseba at Her Bath'
"Bathseba at Her Bath" is the title of this painting by Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1653). She was an Italian artist of the Baroque and is today considered the most important female painter of her epoch. Her paintings often show strong, charismatic women who are also courageous, determined and self-confident.
'The artist in his studio'
The obscure and itinerant Michael Sweerts, a Flemish Baroque painter (1618-1664) who died in Goa, India at the age 46, was only rediscovered by art historians in the 20th century. It was during a decade in Rome that the painter of everyday scenes in the Bamboccianti style adopted the painting chops of his Italian Baroque colleagues, especially strong chiaroscuro effects.
'Samson and Delilah'
The Dutch artist Matthias Stom (ca. 1600-1652), known as a master of so-called Utrecht Caravaggism, here takes up a motif from the Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens. By emphasizing the strained physicality of his figures with spotlit precision, Stom again achieves the dramatic impact that was typical of the best Baroque painters.
'Venus and Adonis'
Jusepe de Ribera's (1591-1652) classic work conveys the full emotion and drama of the Greek tragedy in which Adonis, the beautiful young man loved by Venus, has been killed by a boar while hunting. The Spanish painter lived and worked in Naples during the Baroque period, while his naturalistic style renewed the typical "Neapolitan School" painting style in the city.
"Heavenly and earthly love"
The Italian painter Giovanni Baglione (1566-1644) actually specialized in church paintings. For his painting "Amor sacro e amor profano" ("Heavenly and earthly love"), in which the heavenly Cupid chastises the earth, he was scorned and ridiculed since his competitor Caravaggio had created a work on the same theme. The dispute ended in court.