Baroque! From St Peter's to St Paul's
Encyclopedia
Baroque! From St Peter's to St Paul's was a three-part BBC Four
documentary series on the painting, sculpture
and architecture
of the Baroque
period. It was written and presented by Waldemar Januszczak
and first broadcast in March 2009. It is named after its start in the square of Saint Peter's Basilica and its end at St Paul's Cathedral
.
In March 2010 'Baroque!' won a Royal Television Society Award for best arts programme.
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
documentary series on the painting, sculpture
Baroque sculpture
Baroque sculpture is the sculpture associated with the Baroque cultural movement, a movement often identified with the existence of important Baroque art and architecture in non-absolutist and Protestant states.-Course:...
and architecture
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
of the Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
period. It was written and presented by Waldemar Januszczak
Waldemar Januszczak
Waldemar Januszczak is a British art critic. Formerly the art critic of The Guardian, he now writes for The Sunday Times, and has twice won the Critic of the Year award...
and first broadcast in March 2009. It is named after its start in the square of Saint Peter's Basilica and its end at St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
.
In March 2010 'Baroque!' won a Royal Television Society Award for best arts programme.
Episodes
- Italy - Baroque's origins in Rome and Spanish NaplesNaplesNaples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, including Borromini's architectural work such as San Carlo alle Quattro FontaneSan Carlo alle Quattro FontaneThe Church of Saint Charles at the Four Fountains is a Roman Catholic church in Rome, Italy. Designed by the architect Francesco Borromini, it was his first independent commission. It is an iconic masterpiece of Baroque architecture, built as part of a complex of monastic buildings on the Quirinal...
, Bernini's fountains, churches like Sant'Andrea al QuirinaleSant'Andrea al QuirinaleThe Church of Saint Andrew's at the Quirinal is a Roman Catholic titular church in Rome, built for of the Jesuit seminary on the Quirinal Hill....
and sculptures such as The Ecstasy of St TheresaEcstasy of St TheresaThe Ecstasy of Saint Teresa is the central sculptural group in white marble set in an elevated aedicule in the Cornaro Chapel, Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome...
; Andrea PozzoAndrea PozzoAndrea Pozzo was an Italian Jesuit Brother, Baroque painter and architect, decorator, stage designer, and art theoretician. He was best known for his grandiose frescoes using illusionistic technique called quadratura, in which architecture and fancy are intermixed...
's illusionistic work at Sant'IgnazioSant'IgnazioThe Church of Saint Ignatius of Loyola at Campus Martius is Roman Catholic titular church dedicated to Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit order, located in Rome, Italy...
and Annibale Caracci's The Loves of the GodsThe Loves of the Gods (Carracci)The Loves of the Gods is a monumental fresco cycle, completed by the Bolognese artist Annibale Carracci and his studio, in the Farnese Gallery which is located in the west wing of the Palazzo Farnese, now the French Embassy) in Rome, Italy...
; CaravaggioCaravaggioMichelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was an Italian artist active in Rome, Naples, Malta, and Sicily between 1593 and 1610. His paintings, which combine a realistic observation of the human state, both physical and emotional, with a dramatic use of lighting, had a formative influence on the Baroque...
's career in Rome and Naples; Jusepe de Ribera, his 'Cabal of Naples' and its activities against rivals such as Caracci's followers Domenichino and Guido ReniGuido ReniGuido Reni was an Italian painter of high-Baroque style.-Biography:Born in Bologna into a family of musicians, Guido Reni was the son of Daniele Reni and Ginevra de’ Pozzi. As a child of nine, he was apprenticed under the Bolognese studio of Denis Calvaert. Soon after, he was joined in that...
. - Spain, its South American Empire, the Spanish Netherlands and the Dutch Republic - VelázquezDiego VelázquezDiego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez was a Spanish painter who was the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV. He was an individualistic artist of the contemporary Baroque period, important as a portrait artist...
and Las MeninasLas MeninasLas Meninas is a 1656 painting by Diego Velázquez, the leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age, in the Museo del Prado in Madrid. The work's complex and enigmatic composition raises questions about reality and illusion, and creates an uncertain relationship between the viewer and the figures...
; ZurbaránFrancisco ZurbaránFrancisco de Zurbarán was a Spanish painter. He is known primarily for his religious paintings depicting monks, nuns, and martyrs, and for his still-lifes...
; Baroque church architecture at Santiago de CompostelaSantiago de CompostelaSantiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...
and in the Southern Netherlands; RubensRubensRubens is often used to refer to Peter Paul Rubens , the Flemish artist.Rubens may also refer to:- People :Family name* Paul Rubens Rubens is often used to refer to Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), the Flemish artist.Rubens may also refer to:- People :Family name* Paul Rubens (composer) Rubens is...
and the Southern Netherlands; Rembrandt, Frans HalsFrans HalsFrans Hals was a Dutch Golden Age painter. He is notable for his loose painterly brushwork, and helped introduce this lively style of painting into Dutch art. Hals was also instrumental in the evolution of 17th century group portraiture.-Biography:Hals was born in 1580 or 1581, in Antwerp...
and Vermeer in the Dutch Republic - England - The Royal Naval HospitalRoyal Naval HospitalA Royal Naval Hospital was a hospital operated by the British Royal Navy. No Royal Naval Hospitals survive as such, although some have become civilian hospitals and one remains as a tri-service military hospital.Royal Naval Hospitals included:...
and Queen's HouseQueen's HouseThe Queen's House, Greenwich, is a former royal residence built between 1614-1617 in Greenwich, then a few miles downriver from London, and now a district of the city. Its architect was Inigo Jones, for whom it was a crucial early commission, for Anne of Denmark, the queen of King James I of England...
at Greenwich; Rubens, Van Dyck and Charles ICharles I of EnglandCharles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
's art patronage (including Banqueting HouseBanqueting HouseIn Tudor and Early Stuart English architecture a banqueting house is a separate building reached through pleasure gardens from the main residence, whose use is purely for entertaining. It may be raised for additional air or a vista, and it may be richly decorated, but it contains no bedrooms or...
and its ceiling paintings); William DobsonWilliam DobsonWilliam Dobson was a portraitist and one of the first notable English painters, praised by his contemporary John Aubrey as "the most excellent painter that England has yet bred"....
's work during the English Civil WarEnglish Civil WarThe English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
; the London churches of Christopher WrenChristopher WrenSir Christopher Wren FRS is one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history.He used to be accorded responsibility for rebuilding 51 churches in the City of London after the Great Fire in 1666, including his masterpiece, St. Paul's Cathedral, on Ludgate Hill, completed in 1710...
and Nicholas HawksmoorNicholas HawksmoorNicholas Hawksmoor was a British architect born in Nottinghamshire, probably in East Drayton.-Life:Hawksmoor was born in Nottinghamshire in 1661, into a yeoman farming family, almost certainly in East Drayton, Nottinghamshire. On his death he was to leave property at nearby Ragnall, Dunham and a...
; Blenheim PalaceBlenheim PalaceBlenheim Palace is a monumental country house situated in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England, residence of the dukes of Marlborough. It is the only non-royal non-episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. The palace, one of England's largest houses, was built between...
, the English Baroque invention of the country house within a landscaped garden and the career of John VanbrughJohn VanbrughSir John Vanbrugh – 26 March 1726) was an English architect and dramatist, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restoration comedies, The Relapse and The Provoked Wife , which have become enduring stage favourites...
; St Paul's.