Madison Art Society announces an Art History Lecture, The Birth of the Baroque: The Legacies of Caravaggio and Annibale Carracci in 17th Century Art

On Sunday, May 7 at 1:30 p.m. the Madison Art Society will host an art history lecture, The Birth of the Baroque: The Legacies of Carvaggio and Annibale Carracci in 17th Century Art. Lecturer, Will Lustenader is a professional artist and adjunct professor of art history at Sacred Heart University and Albertus Magnus College.  The lecture will be held in the Community Room of Scranton Memorial Library, 801 Boston Post Road, Madison, CT.  The lecture is free and open to the public.

The Birth of the Baroque: The Legacies of Caravaggio and Annibale Carracci in 17^th Century Art

Supper at Emmaus by Caravaggio

The art of the 17^th century in Europe is known for both its diverse qualities as much as for its passionate arpeggios of rich color, gilded surfaces and often violent storytelling, be it religious, mythological or secular in subject. These two painters from the north of Italy find themselves in Rome during the early 1590’s, during a time of great change in the art world as the Counter Reformation efforts on the part of the church seeks to impart a new style in the arts as a way of buffeting the rapid spread of Protestantism from the north of Europe. Massive building campaigns for churches and palaces demand new art to fill their spaces.

Loves of the Gods by Carracci

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio and Annibale Carracci unwittingly find themselves at the heart of the struggle; each with a very different, if not oppositional, style that will captivate their respective audiences and create two distinct stylistic lineages, that will crisscross throughout the better part of the century. Their natures could not have been more different: Caravaggio was a street brawler and Carracci was a depressive who barely left his studio filled with unfinished works. Both artists will die relatively young by 1610, in fact, but their pupils and followers will spread these influences across Europe to form what is called the Baroque style that will have an immediate impact on artists that had never visited Italy, such as Rembrandt and Georges de LaTour.

Contact info: Beverly Schirmeier 860-399-6116