Baroque Painters

Johannes Vermeer was a Dutch painter renowned for his use of light in paintings. Although he did not achieve fame during his lifetime, Vermeer's works gained popularity in the 19th century. Today, Vermeer is often counted among the greatest painters of the Dutch Golden Age. Over the years, Vermeer's work has inspired artists like Wilhelm Hammershoi and Thomas Wilmer Dewing.

Peter Paul Rubens is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. He lived during the Dutch Golden Age. His style of art emphasized movement, color, and sensuality. He painted altarpieces, portraits, landscapes, and history paintings and also drew cartoons for the Flemish tapestry workshops. He was a classically educated humanist scholar as well.

Diego Velázquez was a Spanish painter who served as the most important artist in King Philip IV's court. The leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age, Velázquez's work served as a model for impressionist and realist painters of the 19th century. In the 20th century, personalities like Salvador Dalí and Pablo Picasso re-interpreted some of Velázquez's most iconic images.

The founder of the French Classical tradition, painter Nicolas Poussin was initially influenced by Venetian art but later deviated to antiquity. Most of his paintings showcased historical, mythological, biblical elements but some were also inspired by landscapes and poetry. The Death of the Virgin remains one of his best-known works.

Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish Baroque artist who started painting at an early age before going on to become the leading court painter in England. Although he is best remembered for painting the aristocracy, van Dyck also painted biblical and mythological subjects. In 1632, Anthony van Dyck received a knighthood from Charles I.

Born to a schoolteacher and part-time painter father, Dutch painter Carel Fabritius learned painting from Rembrandt. A pioneer of the 17th-century Delft movement, he died in the deadly 1654 Delft gunpowder magazine explosion that ravaged most of the city and almost all his works. The Goldfinch remains his best-known work.

Eighteenth-century Italian painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo was a significant figure of the Rococo movement. Son of a shipping merchant, Tiepolo gained fame with his iconic creations such as The Sacrifice of Isaac. He was determined he wouldn’t leave Venice and often sent his paintings abroad instead of traveling to paint.

Born to a tailor, Annibale Carracci set up a painters’ studio named Accademia degli Incamminati with his brother and cousin, thus establishing the famous Carracci family of painters. A significant figure of the Baroque movement, he is remembered for his iconic works such as Domine, Quo Vadis?

Francisco de Zurbarán was a Spanish painter known primarily for his religious paintings depicting monks, nuns, and martyrs. He was also famous for his still-lifes. His forceful use of the chiaroscuro style of painting gained him the nickname "Spanish Caravaggio." He was much respected during his lifetime and was appointed painter to King Philip IV.  

Jusepe de Ribera was a Spanish-Valencian Tenebrist painter and printmaker. He was also called Lo Spagnoletto ("the Little Spaniard") by his contemporaries. Little is known about his early life, though it is believed he studied at the Academy of Saint Luke. He spent several years of his career in Italy and was a leading painter in Naples.

Baroque painter and poet Salvator Rosa was born near Naples, to a land surveyor father, who wanted him to become a priest or a lawyer. However, Rosa deviated to art. Initially devoted to landscapes, he later focused on religious art. He is remembered as a pioneer of the Neapolitan school.

Born into slavery, Juan de Pareja began his artistic career assisting his master, painter Diego Velázquez, in his workshop, painting Portrait of Agustín Moreto while in slavery. Freed in 1650, which came into effect four years later, he continued to work as an independent painter, very soon developing his own style, creating masterpieces like The Calling of Saint Matthew.

Spanish painter Juan Sánchez Cotán is regarded as one of the pioneers of Baroque realism. He is best known for his still lifes, also known as bodegones, which showed a signature illusion of depth and volume using light and shadow. His subjects ranged from fruits and vegetables to birds.

Spanish Baroque painter and the president of the Sevilla Academy, Juan de Nisa Valdés Leal is remembered for his masterpieces such as St. Andrew, Vanitas, and La Vírgen de los Plateros. Though initially characterized by his use of vibrant colors, he later dealt with macabre themes and violence.

Renowned Spanish Baroque painter Juan Carreño de Miranda had been the court painter of King Charles II. His frescos and oil paintings of religious scenes, such as Founding of the Trinitarian Order, depict a balanced combination of light and shadow. His portraits of the royal family are rich in their accuracy.

Born in Mexico, Baroque painter Cristóbal de Villalpando created masterpieces that still adorn Mexican cathedrals. Much of his work, such as Triumph of the Eucharist, was influenced by Peter Paul Rubens and his techniques of brushwork and color. He also drew from Mannerism and created a distinct local Mexican style.

Tomioka Tessai was the pseudonym for Yusuke, a popular painter and calligrapher in imperial Japan. He was one of the first major artists of the Nihonga style.  As a young man, he was taken in as a protege by the Buddhist poet and nun Ōtagaki Rengetsu. He later opened a school and also did some work for the Meiji government. 

The son of Portuguese sculptor Faustino Coello, Spanish Baroque painter Claudio Coello is regarded as the last of the great masters of the 17th-century Madrid school. His Adoration of the Holy Eucharist, which adorns the El Escorial, is one of his masterpieces. He was patronized by Charles II.

Pellegrino Tibaldi was an Italian mannerist sculptor, architect, and mural painter. Tibaldi is credited with painting frescoes of the Story of Ulysses found at the Palazzo Poggi and scenes from Moses' life in Rome's Palazzo Sacchetti. He is also credited with teaching several future painters like Girolamo Miruoli, Lorenzo Sabbatini, and Orazio Samacchini.

One of the first artists who employed the techniques of the Italian new realism, Spanish Baroque painter Francisco Ribalta specialized in painting religious subjects. He was also the pioneer of tenebroso, or paintings focusing on darkness, in Spain. His masterpieces include Christ Embracing St. Bernard and Nailing to the Cross.

Andrea Brustolon was an Italian sculptor who used wood to carve his sculptures in the Baroque style. He also used his skills to carve devotional sculptures. Such was his popularity that both contemporary and future sculptors  imitated his style; Valentino Panciera Besarel imitated Andrea Brustolon's style to make upholstered armchairs from the 1860s.

While he initially studied philosophy and literature, Alfonso Pérez Sánchez later also learned film direction. Apart from teaching at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, the Spanish art historian also served as the director of the Museo del Prado. He organized exhibitions and was also part of a ministry of culture commission.