Baroque Drama Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Baroque Drama - Essay Example One of the distinguished aspects of Baroque painting was its offbeat usage of colors and ornamentations. Such extravagances of expressionism were central to the spirit of the age. The Catholic counter-reformatory impulses resulted in a synthesis of abstraction and reality, which manifested itself poignantly in the works of Artemisia Gentileschi, the most celebrated of Roman painters in this epoch. In the purview of our study, we will now examine her famous painting entitled Judith Slaying Holofernes. Themes of women liberation and mystic illusionism are beautifully dramatized in this particular paintwork (Kleiner 662). Gentileschi derived her narrative content from one of the biblical episodes involving the beheading of the Assyrian general Holofernes by Judith (Spielvogel 477). It might be noted that the Roman painters were handsomely patronized by the English monarchs of the time. Hence, there was a sense of freedom and commitment to perfection on the painters’ part. Judith Slaying Holofernes is no exception to the liquidizing mobility that typifies the florid rendition of the Baroque taste. Francesco Borromini played a pioneering role in intensifying the architectural grandiose of the Italian Baroque. His neatly crafted San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, which is imploring in terms of its dramatic appeal, is also emblematic of the quintessential Baroque style of architecture. Quite typically, the Baroque architecture was demarked by a naà ¯ve yet peremptory feel of actuation and spaciousness.