Lecture 28: Annibale Carracci and the Reform of Art

Annibale Carracci and the Reform of Art ........................................

Lecture 28

Historically, the anti-Mannerist reform was mainly associated with

the Carracci family of Bologna, but there were precursors to the

Carracci reform.

I

n this lecture, we will discuss a reform in art that was a reaction against

the style of Mannerism, as well as artists who anticipated this reform,

including Antonio Correggio. Looking at Correggio’s illusionistic

paintings, we will see his inÀ uence on subsequent eras. We will then explore

the Carracci family of Bologna, who founded a teaching academy that

inÀ uenced many artists. We will take a close look at Annibale Carracci’s

works, including his decorations in the Farnese Palace in Rome.

The 16th century in northern Italy saw a reaction to the excesses of

Mannerism, a longing to return to more realistic art. The anti-Mannerist

reform was mainly associated with the Carracci family of Bologna, but there

were precursors to the Carracci reform, such as the art of Antonio Correggio

(1489–1534). Correggio came from a small town in northern Italy, but he

became associated with the city of Parma, then in the midst of a cultural

revival. He saw Mantegna’s frescoes at Mantua and was exposed to Venetian

painting and Leonardo’s art. He evolved an inventive and original art that

anticipated much in the 16th-century reform of style in art.

Correggio developed a proto-Rococo eroticism, as seen in Venus, Satyr and

Cupid, also known as Jupiter and Antiope (c. 1524–1525). This painting

depicts a sleeping Venus with Cupid beside her, as a satyr discovers the

goddess of love. For his nudes, Correggio borrowed Leonardo’s manipulation

of light and shadow to create a À eshy quality. In their modeling and

eroticism, his nudes anticipate 18th-century French painters, such as François

Boucher. Correggio’s importance in illusionistic painting is illustrated in his

Assumption of the Virgin (c. 1526–1530). This dome fresco in the cathedral

was not quite complete at the time of Correggio’s death in 1534.