3.3 Baroque & Colonial Americas

Baroque drama

Baroque art (1600s) is dramatic, dynamic, and emotional, using intense tenebrism (extreme light/dark, as in Caravaggio) and movement. Velázquez's 'Las Meninas' plays with space and the viewer's position.

Counter-Reformation

Much Baroque art served the Catholic Counter-Reformation, aiming to inspire awe and devotion — grand churches like Il Gesù in Rome.

Colonial synthesis

In the Spanish Americas, European and Indigenous traditions merged. The Virgin of Guadalupe and casta paintings reflect a new colonial society and its racial/social hierarchies.

Key terms

Baroque

dramatic, dynamic, emotional art of the 1600s

Tenebrism

extreme light-dark contrast (Caravaggio)

'Las Meninas'

Velázquez — ambiguous space and viewer

Counter-Reformation

Catholic movement much Baroque art served

Casta paintings

colonial images of racial/social hierarchy

Try an AP-style question

Caravaggio's tenebrism is…

1. bright pastel colors throughout
2. soft, even lighting across the scene
3. dramatic spotlighting against dark
4. flat, decorative areas of color