THE CULTURE IN THE AGE OF ABSOLUTISM

The culture in the age of absolutism

In the second half of the sixteenth century and part of the seventeenthEurope undergoing a social and economic crisis. This crisis, caused, among other things, the Catholic restoration, eventually creating the foundations for what was called the Baroque culture. The reaction of the Catholic Church to the advance of Protestantism, also known as the Counter-Reformation, has reached the cultural production. The period from the late sixteenth century and the mid-seventeenth became known as the Baroque era. One can say that baroque expressed disturbances religious, social and economic of the period.Baroque art has not developed solely on cuts, but also reached a wider audience. For the current standards. Baroque seems to be exaggerated and contrived, but in fact this art was searching for the marvelous and the supernatural. The Italian was also the birthplace of Baroque art, as had been the Renaissance, but a cultural movement flourished in other European countries. In Spain the Baroque art took on national characteristics, marked by religious faith and a realistic trend.

In France, after the crises of the sixteenth century, the Baroque began to enforce in the courts and among intellectuals, reaching its apogee in the lush season of Louis XVI.

In regions of the Protestant faith, the Baroque art acquired other characteristics. Instead of the pomp of the Roman Baroque or heroic character of the baroque Spanish and French, the Dutch and German Baroque artists focus attention on the street, at home, in daily urban life.

The Baroque in France

The Italian was during the Renaissance, the main European cultural center.However, from the sixteenth century, this role was played by France, then the richest country and stable Europe.

Louis XIV, the Sun King, intensively used Baroque art to enhance your figure.The absolute state independent artists turned into civil servants.

Racine, the noted playwright, was also a historian of royalty and had the task of recounting the military achievements of the king.

Numerous theaters were built in the elaborate Baroque style, where they staged the French society of the time, but spared monarchical institutions.

In the visual arts highlight was the painter Le Brun, in charge of registering on-screen exploits of Louis XIV.

The Baroque in the Netherlands

Southern Europe was the center of the baroque production. Aiming to stop the spread of Protestantism, the Church commissioned paintings with religious themes that exalted Catholic. Rubens (1577-1640), which, though of Belgian origin, lived and worked long time in Rome, he painted several pictures for this purpose. Among the leading names of baroque art is also noted sculptor, painter and architect Gianlorenzo Bernini (1598-1680), author of works of intense religious fervor.

In the north, the artistic production was linked more to the craft and commercial activities than to religion. The wealth of the merchants of the commercial and manufacturing cities of the north of the current Netherlandshas provided exceptional materials to artists. Freedom of expression and financial compensation encouraged artistic production. Frans Hals, for example, excelled at portraying the life of the Dutch mercantile bourgeoisie.

Baroque music

Production Music Baroque was more accessible to the public than the Renaissance. It is an elaborately music in formal terms, full of joy and spirituality. One of the most important Baroque composers are AntonioVivaldi (1676-1714), author of magnificent works for violin, an instrument hitherto underrated. The most famous of his works is The Four Seasons.

But the greatest name in German Baroque music is Johann Sebastian Bach(1685-1750), considered one of the greatest composers of all time. His extensive work includes more than 200 cantatas, among which worth mentioning the monumental St. Matthew Passion. orchestral pieces, such as the Brandenburg Concertos, and numerous compositions for organ harpsichord and other instruments.