It has been said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that is the case then Italian artists of the 16th and 17th century must have had a hard time staying humble. After examining that the Nelson-Atkins’ version of Francisco Zurbaran’s The Entombment of Saint Catherine, c. 1636, oil on canvas, its clear that Italian influences ranging from Caravaggio’s tenebrism to Pontormo’s Mannerist compositions, and even back to Raphael’s color palette can be found all the way across the Tyrrhenian and Balearic Sea in 17th century Seville, Spain. The art market of 16th century Italy was controlled by what people today call “The Masters,” one of which was Raphael. In fact, Raphael and Zurbaran have a lot of similarities in the way that they
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Mannerist artists like Pontormo and Bronzino exaggerated and distorted the defining characteristics of the High Renaissance; Where the artists of the renaissance had sought to create a new sense of harmony and stability, the mannerists introduced tension and strangeness through characteristics such as emotionalism, elongated human figures, strained poses, unusual effects of scale, lighting or perspective, and vivid-garish colors . Often, the goal of a mannerist work was to engage the viewers intelligence and analysis; to get them to think, or start a debate. Mannerist works in return were most popular with well educated (and often wealthy) patrons. At the turn of the century the stormy chiaroscuro paintings of Caravaggio and the powerful, illusionistic paintings of the Bolognese Carracci family gave rise to the Baroque period in Italian art . The Baroque period corresponds to the time when the Catholic Church decided to react against the Protestant movement. Baroque is characterized by ornate detail, great drama, rich color, and intense light and dark shadows . Caravaggio is credited with inventing tenebrism during this period and, although artists like Albrecht Durer and El Greco also used tenebrism variously in their work, Caravaggio, who became a master in tenebrous style, was the first to find the most success, and have the most influence because of using this …show more content…
During this time, many prints of Raphael’s were being circulated, and though it arrived late in Spain, mannerist influences began to take root due to Spanish artists who had trained in Italy, like El Grcco and Juan de Juni establishing themselves in the country . The Spanish were fond of adopting the technical characteristics of the Italian Renaissance but, because their country followed the catholic faith a bit more strictly and fervently than Italy, they often opted out of including female nudes or characters from classical antiquity, and modified the themes of the Italian renaissance to better suit the Spanish culture and religious environment of the time. The same adaptation can be said about how Spanish artists adapted their style after being introduced to Italian Baroque works. They began to stray from a tradition of detailed and smooth brushwork, and over time leaned towards a more naturalistic style. This more naturalistic approach, influenced by Caravaggio, became predominant in Seville, and formed the training background of three Golden Age masters: Cano, Zurbaran
Mannerist artists like Pontormo and Bronzino exaggerated and distorted the defining characteristics of the High Renaissance; Where the artists of the renaissance had sought to create a new sense of harmony and stability, the mannerists introduced tension and strangeness through characteristics such as emotionalism, elongated human figures, strained poses, unusual effects of scale, lighting or perspective, and vivid-garish colors . Often, the goal of a mannerist work was to engage the viewers intelligence and analysis; to get them to think, or start a debate. Mannerist works in return were most popular with well educated (and often wealthy) patrons. At the turn of the century the stormy chiaroscuro paintings of Caravaggio and the powerful, illusionistic paintings of the Bolognese Carracci family gave rise to the Baroque period in Italian art . The Baroque period corresponds to the time when the Catholic Church decided to react against the Protestant movement. Baroque is characterized by ornate detail, great drama, rich color, and intense light and dark shadows . Caravaggio is credited with inventing tenebrism during this period and, although artists like Albrecht Durer and El Greco also used tenebrism variously in their work, Caravaggio, who became a master in tenebrous style, was the first to find the most success, and have the most influence because of using this …show more content…
During this time, many prints of Raphael’s were being circulated, and though it arrived late in Spain, mannerist influences began to take root due to Spanish artists who had trained in Italy, like El Grcco and Juan de Juni establishing themselves in the country . The Spanish were fond of adopting the technical characteristics of the Italian Renaissance but, because their country followed the catholic faith a bit more strictly and fervently than Italy, they often opted out of including female nudes or characters from classical antiquity, and modified the themes of the Italian renaissance to better suit the Spanish culture and religious environment of the time. The same adaptation can be said about how Spanish artists adapted their style after being introduced to Italian Baroque works. They began to stray from a tradition of detailed and smooth brushwork, and over time leaned towards a more naturalistic style. This more naturalistic approach, influenced by Caravaggio, became predominant in Seville, and formed the training background of three Golden Age masters: Cano, Zurbaran