Art

Breakfast Table with Blackberry Pie ( c. 1631 ) by Willem Claesz Heda. 820cm x 540cm Likely created in the Netherlands Baroque Era and the Rise of the Merchant Classes In Protestant countries to the North , the Church and monarchy were no longer the wealthiest source of patronage. Rather, a flourishing middle class became eager to show off their new status and pride by purchasing art. These new art purchasers wanted smaller, more sensible paintings that could be displayed in their private homes. Consumers of art in the North therefore wanted paintings that they could easily relate to. Artists met this demand by creating paintings using landscape and still-life genres, as well as  genre paintings  (scenes of everyday life, like a housewife doing housework).   Analysis The painting above falls into the still-life genre popular in the Protestant North during the Baroque era. I have always enjoyed still-life paintings and I like this one particularly for its intricate de...

Background Information This is the Primavera , also known as "Spring," by Sandro Botticelli. The painting was created in Florence, Italy,  circa 1480 . It is 207 x 319 cm and is tempera grassa on wood.  The painting depicts nine figures from classical mythology. To the right, Zephyrus is reaching for Chloris. Chloris transforms into Flora, the spring goddess. In the center of the painting is Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, with Cupid directly above her. Farthest left is Mercury, with the Three Graces dancing next to him.  This is the  largest mythological painting  of the Early Renaissance, and it was commissioned by the Medici family. There have been many interpretations of the painting by scholars over the years. The Primavera  and the famous Birth of Venus were created by Botticelli as companion paintings and are meant to be displayed together. The central figure in both paintings is Venus, who had just arrived on Earth in the Birth of Venus . In ...