Baroque Era - A Claude Landscape

 

Landscape with Nymph and Satyr Dancing (1641) by Claude Lorrain (Gellee) (1604-82)

The Painting:

    Landscape with Nymph and Satyr Dancing was created in 1641 by Claude Lorrain. It was created on a 39 1/4 inch x 52 3/8 inch canvas using oil paints. It can currently be found at The Toledo Museum of Art until June 2025, along with some of his other pieces. 

About the Artist:

    Claude Gellee was born in the Duchy of Lorrain, France in 1604, to the humble village of Chamagne. Around 12 years old, he move to Rome, Italy where he spent the majority of his life. According to his friend and first biographer, Joachim von Sandrart, he started his career in Rome as a pastry cook. (Met) From Rome, Claude went to Naples, Italy where he became a pupil under Goffredo Wals (1590/95-1638/40). After Wals, Claude became associated with Agostino Tassi (c. 1580-1644), possibly as a servant at first and then as a pupil. Tassi was a specialist in landscape and illusionistic architecture, something Claude would later become great at himself. After studying under Tassi, Claude found himself in Nancy, France studying under the leading painter of the court of Lorraine, Claude Deruet (1588-1660). (NGA) From there, he found himself back in Rome where he felt he could fully nurture his talents as a landscape artist, for the rest of his days. 

    Claude is known for his landscapes and use of lighting in them. He was able to use lighting to bring pictorial unity to a scene. He perfected his craft around Rome, constantly observing and drawing the light and atmosphere around him. He carefully plotted perspective, calculated balance and paid close attention to details in his works. (NGA) In 1633, Claude joined the official society of painters in Rome, the Accademia di San Luca.

    He was a highly sought after painter, and even had people imitating and forging his works. In 1635, he created the album Liber Veritatis (London, British Museum), to showcase his works with dates and destinations of when he created them. Claude commissioned works for Cardinals, Popes, and even King Phillip IV of Spain. 

    As he reached towards the end of his career his works developed a panoramic layout to them, making the horizons seem infinitely distant. His early work had been superseded by subtle transitions of space and nuanced reduction of color and detail, to create a slow passage through the landscape. His small, sturdy figures of humans and animals beautifully harmonizing in the natural scene. (NGA)

How Expanding Scientific Knowledge Shaped The Era

    Developments in science and exploring the globe, spurred on a new interest in nature and general broadening of human intellectual horizons. These both simultaneously produced a new sense both of human insignificance, (particularly abetted by Copernicus's displacement of the Earth from the center), and of the unsuspected complexity and infinitude of the natural world. Developments in 17th-century landscape paintings, are indicative of this changing awareness of the human condition, in which humans are portrayed as minute figures in a vast natural setting.(Britannica) Light and movement is used to portray this vast setting in nature, and has a clearer focus on the naturalness with figures harmonizing within.

    Galileo worked endlessly to perfect and prove Copernicus's theory that the Earth was not the center but the Sun was. He provided support using observations from his telescope along with his theory of the tides that he had come up with as proof of the annual and diurnal motions of Earth. Although he made great contributions to this theory, he was punished for not treating it as a hypothetical theory versus the much believed Ptolemy theory at the time, that the Earth was the center of the universe.  (Britannica)

    Galileo inspired many artists with his telescope findings and support to the Copernican Theory. His theory of projectile motion, also proved beneficial to artists in creating fluid motions in their pieces. (Smart)

    Modern science and the opening of the world beyond Europe, brought new rare materials and an increasing serious interest in nature and meaning of these exotic materials. This also opened the doors to more pieces being created combining multiple mediums to create a unique piece. High value was attached to works created with these rarities and they were often decorated with designs of the natural world and motifs derived from human and animal forms. (VAM)  

    

Analysis of the Landscape

    Landscape with Nymph and Satyr Dancing is a breathtaking piece, and it is no wonder it was part of a Golden Age in art. The work itself looks golden. Claude's immense detail to light and his natural atmosphere around him can be clearly seen in this work from corner to corner. This is a piece I would love to have displayed in my home for all to see and marvel at. It invokes the feeling of wanting to jump in and dance along, to climb the rocks and explore the ruins. 

Art Elements That Stood Out To Me:

 Tone: The use of lighting in this piece is used to show vast distance, like the illusion of mountains in the background coming into light as the morning sun rises. As the tone shifts into dark, more objects become visible to the eye as the appear closer. The darkness around the Nymphs and Satyr, showcases the wariness the Nymph in blue is feeling about dancing with the Satyr. 

Color: Claude's use of bright colors, helps his figures to stick out against the natural setting around them. It also provides a spark of individuality and personality to each character involved. 

Form, Line and Shape: The use of shapes such as, cylinders, and rectangles, bring the architecture to life, giving it the form of a 3D building you can explore. Whereas, the flowing lines bring beautiful movement and structure to the trees and even the robes of the Nymphs. 

Works Cited

Baetjer, Katharine. “Claude Lorrain (1604/5?-1682).” Metmuseum.org, The Met, Feb. 2014, www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/clau/hd_clau.htm. 

National Gallery of Art. “Claude Lorrain.” Www.nga.gov, National Gallery of Art, www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.1145.html. 

Ripolles, Dr. Carmen. “Secular Matters of the Global Baroque – Smarthistory.” Smarthistory.org, 22 Aug. 2022, smarthistory.org/reframing-art-history/global-baroque-secular-matters/. 

The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Baroque Art and Architecture.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 Dec. 2018, www.britannica.com/art/Baroque-art-and-architecture. 

Toledo Museum of Art. “Landscape with Nymph and Satyr Dancing.” Emuseum.toledomuseum.org, Toledo Museum of Art, emuseum.toledomuseum.org/objects/55147. 

Van Helden, Albert. “Galileo - Galileo’s Copernicanism.” Encyclopedia Britannica, edited by The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, 2019, www.britannica.com/biography/Galileo-Galilei/Galileos-Copernicanism. 

Baetjer, Katha