Baroque; A Contrast of Lightness and Darkness

(Caravaggio "The Calling of St. Matthew" 1599-1600)

(Beyonce in a Baroque inspired Givenchy gown MET Gala 2011)

When thinking about the artistic period of Baroque one of the first things that come to mind is the obvious contrast between lightness and darkness. The Baroque period also utilized the color scheme of rich golds, reds, yellows and black. 

Over the years, many designers have drawn inspiration from this time period. One of the most famously worn Baroque inspired gowns was worn to the MET Gala in 2011 by none other than Beyonce. 

When you look at Caravaggio's "The Calling of St. Matthew" you can tell by first glance it is from the Baroque period. The use of natural lighting streaming in contrasting with the darkness of the painting. The people are beginning to look more natural and realistic. The color palette shows golden reds and yellows with dark hazy colors. 

When you look at the Givenchy gown, it has no direct relation to the oil on canvas Caravaggio painting. However, the colors used in the dress and the contrast between the black and gold is a direct relation to the Baroque time period. 

Last Supper Parody

(Leonardo Da Vinci, Last Supper)

(The Expendables 2 movie poster)

Leonardo Da Vinci's Last Supper was painted between 1405-1496. The painting is in Milan Italy at a monastery. The Last Super is another recognizable work of Da Vinci's that has been copied numerous times. 

One of the latest parodies of Da Vinci's Last Supper is a movie poster for The Expendables 2 coming out in August. The photo depicts one person in the center and twelve people surrounding him. The man in the center would represent "Jesus" in the painting and the other twelve would represent the "12 disciples". 

Even though the movie poster is a photoshopped photograph and Da Vinci's Last Supper is oil on plaster, it is pretty self explanatory why the two are directly related. 

Mona Lisa Inspired

(Leonardo Da Vinci, Mona Lisa) 

(Lady Gaga in a Mona Lisa inspired tapestry dress)

Da Vinci's Mona Lisa is one of the most recognizable pieces of art in the world. It is not difficult to find a parody of the Mona Lisa on t-shirts or home accessories at Urban Outfitters. However, this unique tapestry dress worn by Lady Gaga puts the Mona Lisa in a new light. 

The Mona Lisa by Da Vinci utilizes chiaroscuro with the contrast of Mona Lisa's face to her wardrobe. He also utilized the technique of sfumato making his piece have a hazy appeal. Even with the use of these two techniques, Leonardo's Mona Lisa seams to have emotion and a realistic feeling. 

On the contrary, even though it is obvious that Lady Gaga's dress is a knock off of Mona Lisa, there are differences. The Mona Lisa dress is more abstract. Her face is not as full of emotion as the actual painting. The use of chiaroscuro is not as prominent, the shades used blend together more with less of a contrast. 

Prehistoric Comparison

(Without Title by Josef Winkler)

(Wall Painting with Horses, Aurochs & Rhinoceroses by Unknown)

When I first began learning about "Wall Painting with Horses, Aurochs & Rhinoceroses" I instantly was drawn to the color scheme of the painting. The muddy browns, rust and creams were very appealing to my eyes. When I stumbled upon the more abstract piece by Josef Winkler, I immediately thought back to the cave painting from 30,000 BCE. The colors, lines and values of the paintings are extremely similar.

The untitled work of Josef Winkler was done in the year 2008 making it a contemporary piece. However, you can see the relation to the cave painting from over 32,000 years ago. The form of each painting consists of very organic lines. As you can imagine, the cave painting found in Southern France probably has a very rough and grainy texture. Even though Winkler's painting was done on a canvas, one could imagine the feeling of roughness when looking at the brush strokes. Another obvious similarity would be the colors used. Both paintings feature a rustic and natural color scheme. Even the values of both paintings stand out as similar. Each features an obvious contrast between light creams and darker brown/blacks.

A major difference between these two pieces would be the representational versus abstraction of both the works. For example, even though it fails to look like a photograph, you can clearly tell that the cave painting is representing animals. If you look at Winkler's painting, it is clearly abstract with no intended subject matter.