What Was Flemish Baroque Painting?
Developed in the 16th and 17th Centuries in what are northern Belgium, Luxembourg, and the southern Netherlands in the present day, Flemish Baroque Painting portrayed robust and detailed images of the world. Development of the style was inspired both by the Italian Renaissance and Flemish traditions and propelled Flanders to artistic significance.
5. Overview of the Style -
Flemish Baroque Painting was divided into various thematic categories, and different artists specialized in particular areas. These divisions were historical Painting- paintings from this genre depicted historical, biblical, and mythological themes. This genre was regarded as being the noblest in the 17th Century. The most renowned painters of this genre were Peter Paul Rubens along with Jacob Jordaens and Rubens’ student, Anthony Van Dyck. Floral Still Life genre became quite popular during the 17th Century in Flanders. Flowers took center stage in floral still life, and they were meant to portray the brevity of earthly life. Portrait Paintings genre were life-sized portraits also became a feature of Flemish Baroque Painting. Family portraits subsequently became popular in the 17th Century. Peter Paul Ruben is credited with his painting works early on in his career, and his influence was visible through his student, Antony Van Dyck. Religious Paintings genre with religious themes also featured prominently in numerous Flemish Baroque Paintings.There were other paintings that depicted everyday life. These genre paintings were very popular in 17th Century Flanders and mostly portrayed the lives of the lower classes.
4. History and Development -
Flemish Baroque Painting was developed after the Dutch Republic detached itself from the Hapsburg Spanish regions of the south in around 1585, and lasted until the end of the Hapsburg rule in 1700. Flemish painters merged their tradition of using oil medium in paintings with traditions imported from Italy to create the Flemish Baroque Style. Peter Paul Rubens, a painter from Antwerp, developed superior mastery of the Flemish Baroque and facilitated its spread through his teaching workshop. His students would later be renowned artists in other European regions, such as Antony Van Dyck who became a court portrait painter in England. The cities of Antwerp and Brussels became centers for Flemish Baroque painters.
3. Notable Artists and their Works -
One of the greatest masters of the Flemish Baroque painting style was undoubtedly Peter Paul Rubens. Rubens’ paintings were theatrical, energetic, sensual and magnificent and he mostly specialized in the human body. Some of his most notable works include Samson and Delilah, based on a biblical scene, Wolf and Fox Hunt, wherein he depicted a hunting scene, and the Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus, which was a mythological painting. As for Ruben’s students, the most notable of them is Antony Van Dyck, who rose to prominence due to his portraits of King Charles I.
2. Decline and Subsequent Successive Movements -
The decline of Flemish Baroque Paintings was as a result of the decline of Flanders itself. With the fall of Hapsburg rule in Flanders, the country was caught up in religious and political disputes which weakened its cultural significance. Flanders was left only with a handful of painters, with the death of pioneers such as Peter Ruben. In its place, neoclassical painting started to flourish.
1. Legacy -
Flemish Baroque painting is still notable today, being credited with great innovations in still life. Paintings from this period are preserved in art museums and continue to be historically and culturally significant into the modern era.
