The Baroque Era - A Reflection of Royal Influence

The Baroque Era represents a unique flip in the historical art timeline: artists strived to create a screenshot of a moment in time. This shift from taking a comfortable, still pose of a subject, to encouraging and capturing the movement of the subject gives an era of art that feels personable, exaggerated, and dramatic. The Rokeby Venus, produced by Diego Velázquez (1599-1660) gives the audience this illusion of feeling as though you are looking through a window. The moment feels private as the audience invades the nude figure as she examines the reflection of her own self. 

Rokeby Venus, c. 1647–51.

Diego Velázquez was a very influential artist of his time. Being of Spanish descent, Velázquez was the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV of Spain and Europe. He was patronized by King Philip IV as well as his chief minister, the Count-Duke of Olivares. Additionally, this artist was the leader of the Spanish Golden Age. With the Spanish Golden Age being a period in which arts flourished due to the political rise of the Spanish Empire, Velázquez was undoubtedly influenced by the events occurring around him. His connection with royalty was reflected in the art he created, evermore in Rokeby Venus.

In contemporary Spain, the painting of nude women was largely frowned upon due to the growing power of the Catholic Church. It is theorized that Velázquez produced three total nudist paintings throughout his lifetime; however, the other two are believed to have burned during a fire at the Royal Palace of Madrid. That leaves just the work of Rokeby Venus, the only controversial nude of Velázquez, as well as one of the few of the Baroque Era. This work is mysterious in that there is not a specific date known as to when this painting was produced, or who it was produced for. Knowing that in Spain, the provocation of the piece would be forbidden, it can be theorized that the work was created on one of two trips Velázquez took to Italy in 1649-1651. There was more artistic freedom during this time in Italy and it may have allowed the artist to fully capture the seduction of the goddess of love.

There is an influence of royalty in this depiction of Venus as we reflect on its mysterious background. There is very little information on the history of the piece due to the influence of royalty and the political uprising of the Catholic Church in Spain. The forbidden nature of the work was never owned by King Philip IV due to its controversial state, but rather ends up appearing in a very minor art collector's collection in November of 1651. The secrecy of the story behind the work is what makes the influence of royalty so clear: the piece is unusual in the creation and erected by the most well-known artist of Spanish history, and yet, the audience is left to fill in the blanks of its historical background and why Velázquez produced such a bold work of art, risking his royal support in Madrid.

The implications of the setting of the piece portray Venus to be cascaded in the privacy of her own bedroom. The unique posture of the subject truly gives it the idea that the feminine figure is not posing for an audience; rather, just taking a moment to herself and her son, Cupid. She is facing away from the audience, her facial features concealed if not for the reflection of the mirror. There is a lack of tension in the painting, further highlighting that the goddess of love is comfortable in her private setting, knowing that there is not a soul gazing at her vulnerable body except herself and her son. 

Heavily contrasting this, we take a painting from the Renaissance Era, an era responsible for the rebirth of humanism with the goal of creating accurate proportions of the human figure. The Mona Lisa is famously known for its intricate focus on proper proportions. The pose of the subject is unnatural, emphasizing that she is posing for the piece, allowing Da Vinci to master every detail of her features. There is no movement, no privacy. Da Vinci had no interest in adding motion and giving the piece a sense of a moment captured in time. 

Mona Lisa, c. 1503–06.

 

Reflecting back on the work of Velázquez, the Renaissance Era contributes largely as there is still a sense of realism in the female figure. The difference, however, is that the piece feels natural and unplanned. The elemental usage of space elevates the work and makes the focal point the luminous body as they are taking up the canvas. The emphasis of value to follow the natural curves as her side sinks into the bedding provides an illusion of a three-dimensional subject. There is a sense of gazing upon the woman through an open window as if you are gazing upon the sprawled limbs in person. Additionally, value truly depicts this open window illusion as the audience focuses on the mirror: the features of her face are cascaded in dark hues, shadowing off a large chunk of it. Her back towards the audience is lit up with vibrant shades of light, it only gives a sense of peering through a window even more, as the natural sunlight beams in, lighting the features facing it. Additionally, a closer glimpse of the mirror contrasts the expectation that Venus is gazing upon her own silhouette, rather, she is looking right back at us. It is as if, in that moment of looking at her reflection, she catches the glimpse of the audience in the background gazing as well.

For the Baroque Era being characterized by drama and intense emotion, this piece offers more of an untheatrical, romantic, and calm presence. The movements are not swift or choppy, but smooth and simple as she takes a moment in time to rest and contemplate the thoughts going through her head. There is a lack of tenebrism, a style of art that heavily relied on extreme contrasts to create drama and mystery. Rather, there is a sense of ease spewed across Venus's face reflecting from the glass, offering the audience a comfortable space to know that there is no need of analyzing a graphic scene, but rather a moment of serenity. The gaze of her looking back at the audience through the mirror gives a sense of catching us in the act of peering at her naked figure; however, being the goddess of love and the epitome of beauty, she expects the audience to stare and only encourages it. 

References

The National Gallery, L. (n.d.). Diego Velázquez. Diego Velázquez (1599 - 1660) | National Gallery, London. Retrieved October 13, 2022, from https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/diego-velazquez

Whitlum-Cooper, Francesca. (2018, May 4). The Rokeby Venus: Velázquez’s only surviving nude | The National Gallery [Video file]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGNAPjNTbCs&t=1641s

The Art Story Foundation. (n.d.). Baroque art and Architecture Movement Overview. The Art Story. Retrieved October 13, 2022, from https://www.theartstory.org/movement/baroque-art-and-architecture/#:~:text=Baroque%20ushered%20in%20a%20new,%2C%20intense%20emotion%2C%20and%20movement.