Europe in The 17 th Century The Age of Reason, Enlightenment, Scientific Revolution, Neo-Classicism, and Global Trade

The Scientific Revolution  Emphasis on experimentation and inductive reasoning  Scientific Method  New methods of observation: the microscope and the telescope  1645: Charles I chartered the Royal Society of London for the Improving of Natural Knowledge A replica of Isaac Newton's telescope of 1672.

Heliocentric Theory  Nicholas Copernicus, astronomer: On the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres, 1543  Giordano Bruno, astronomer: burnt at the stake for teaching heliocentric theory and infinity of universe, 1600  Johannes Kepler, mathematician and physicist: laws of planetary motion; Astronomia nova, Harmonices Mundi, and Epitome of Copernican Astronomy. They also provided one of the foundations for Isaac Newton's theory of universal gravitation. Copernicus, Portrait from Toruń, 1580 Giordano Bruno Johannes Kepler

Galileo Builds the First Telescope 1609

Galileo Galilei  Florentine astronomer  Law of falling bodies: gravity  Adapted Dutch lens in to telescope:  Saw Jupiter’s moons, Saturn’s rings, phases of Venus and stars in the Milky Way  Proved heliocentric theory  The Starry Messenger, 1610  Dialogue Concerning the Two Principal Systems of the World, 1632  Persecuted by Inquisition – forced to recant.

Sir Isaac Newton  Mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, and natural philosopher  Developed calculus contemporaneously but separately from Liebniz  Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica: described universal gravitation and the three laws of motion  Opticks: discovered that light was composed of particles Godfrey Kneller's Sir Isaac Newton at 46

The Age of Reason  17 th c. philosophers broke with Medieval and Renaissance scholasticism  System-builders — philosophers who present unified systems of epistemology, metaphysics, logic, and ethics, and often politics and the physical sciences  RATIONALISTS: Knowledge can be gained through the power of reason – mathematics as basis of knowledge  Rene Descartes, Baruch Spinoza, Gottfried Leibniz  EMPIRICISTS: Knowledge comes through the senses, through experience – physical sciences as basis of knowledge  Francis Bacon, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, George Berkeley, David Hume

René Descartes “Cogito ergo sum” “I think, therefore, I am”  “Father of Modern Philosophy,” “Father of Modern Mathematics”  Developed analytic geometry  Discourse on the Method: methodological skepticism – favors deduction over perception René Descartes. Portrait by Frans Hals, 1648

Francis Bacon  Leading advocate for empiricism  Inductive reasoning: fact > axiom > law  Novum Organum (New Method), 1620: advocated scientific study guided by precise methodology: experimentation, tabulation, record keeping  Separation of religion and science

The Enlightenment  18 th c. movement in European and American philosophy and intellectual thought which advocated REASON as the primary basis for authority.  Period is marked by:  Nation building  Government consolidation  Systemization of knowledge: academies, encyclopedias, dictionaries  Decline in power of authoritarian institutions such as the church and nobility  Greater rights for common people

Prominent Enlightenment Philosophers Thomas Paine Mary Wollstonecraft Voltaire Jean-Jacques Rousseau David Hume

A CLASS SOCIETY  The Aristocracy  Professionals  Scientists  Physicians  Attorneys  Clergy  Literati  Military Officers  Merchants and Bankers  Tradespeople  Working Class  Domestic Servants  Hired labor  Apprentices  The Unemployed: debtors, beggars,thieves  Peasants

Gin Lane (1751). Etching and Engraving by William Hogarth. The New York Public Library. Poverty and Unemployment  Displaced agrarian labor  No social safety net  Education only for the elite  Child labor  Cheap gin

Societal Ideals  Clear hierarchical structures  Public life more important than private life  Decorum: well-defined codes of behavior  Society: importance of the social group and shared opinion  Marriage and family as a social microcosm  Urbane: the city is the center of human discourse – the country is pastoral, an idealized refuge for renewal and relaxation, or the venue of the ignorant “country bumpkins”  Wit: the importance of language used well

Vauxhall Gardens (1784). A drawing by Thomas Rowlandson. Victoria and Albert Royal Museum. Samuel Johnson James BoswellHester Thrale Oliver Goldsmith Duchess of Devonshire Mary “Perdita” Robinson Prince of Wales Social Gatherings

A London coffeehouse. The British Museum Coffee and News Periodicals and Newpapers Addison and Steele The Spectator Periodical Essays Literary Criticism Character Sketches Political Discussion Philosophical Ideas

Literary Salons  Intellectual and literary circles formed around women  Brought together members of society and philosophers and artists  Emphasis on conversation and wit A reading of Molière, Jean François de Troy, ca. 1728

Neo-Classicism  The consideration of Greek and Roman art and literature as “the canon” of art  Adoption of Classical conventions into art, architecture and literature  Desire for stability and order  Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns  The Ancients: Greece and Rome established standards and models never to be excelled  The Moderns: those standing on the shoulders of their predecessors could see farther – the new could excell the ancient

G. P. Pannini assembles the canon of Roman ruins and Roman sculpture into one vast imaginary gallery (1756)

Neo-Classical Artist  Social  Arbiter of Taste  Elitist  Moral  Intellectual  Critic Louis Michel van Loo Portrait of Diderot

Artistic Conventions  Verisimilitude  a semblance of truth  Hazlitt: “ the close imitation of men and manners… the very texture of society as it really exists.”  recognizable settings and characters in real time  elimination of fantastic and supernatural elements  Morality  Revelation of ideal moral patterns  Poetic justice: the good are rewarded and the wicked punished  God’s plan is inevitably just  Universality  Social norms are unchanged regardless of period or locale  Decorum  Appropriate adherence to contemporary behavioral standards

J. S. Muller after Samuel Wale, A General Prospect of Vaux Hall Gardens Shewing at one View the disposition of the whole Gardens (after 1751). ARTIFICE

 Art as an improvement upon nature  Neo-classical ideals: balance, harmony, reason  Gardens  Major poetic forms:  Heroic couplets: rhymed iambic pentameter (English): ں / ں / ں / ں / ں /  Alexandrines: rhymed iambic hexameter (French): ں / ں / ں / ں / ں / ں /  Epic and mock epic  Poetic essay

Literary Genres  Drama: comedy and tragedy  Epistle: public letters in poetry or prose  Epic: didactic, idealistic,  Ode: occasional poem in praise of an event or person  Satire: exposure of public and private foolishness  Mock epics  Mock odes  Epigrams: pithy, witty ideas  Novels: realistic portrayals of bourgeois life

Social Satire  Voltaire, Candide  Alexander Pope  Mock epic: “The Rape of the Lock”  Literary Satire: “The Dunciad  Jonathan Swift  “A Modest Proposal”  Gulliver’s Travels

The Laughing Audience (1733). Etching and engraving by William Hogarth. The New York Public Library Entertainment Theatre Opera Symphony

French Neoclassical Theatre, 17th-18th C.  Modelled theatre on Greek and Roman examples  Disdained English Elizabethan theatre’s “messiness” and eclecticism  Neoclassical Conventions  Decorum  Verisimilitude  Universal truths  Poetic: Alexandrines  5 act structure  3 unities: time, place action

Tragedy and Comedy  Rulers/nobility  Affairs of state  Unhappy ending  Lofty poetic style  Revealed the horrible results of mistakes and misdeeds committed from passion  Corneille and Racine  Middle class/bourgeosie  Domestic/private affairs  Happy ending – often deus ex machina  Ordinary speech  Ridicules behavior that should be avoided  Moliere

Pierre Corneille  Known as “the founder of French tragedy”  Chafed under the critical strictures of Cardinal Richelieu and the Académie Français  Le Cid 1637 Querelle de Cid

Jean-Baptiste Poquelin Moliére  Playwright, actor, producer – headed his own theatrical company  Favorite of Louis XIV – troupe was established at court: Palais Royale Theatre  Influenced by commedia dell arte and by Roman comedies and French farces – he used these forms to ridicule social and moral pretensions.  Le Misanthrope, (The Misanthrope), L'École des femmes (The School for Wives), Tartuffe ou l'Imposteur, (Tartuffe or the Hypocrite), L'Avare ou l'École du mensonge (The Miser), Le Bourgeois gentilhomme (The Bourgeois Gentleman).

Jean Racine First tragedies originally produced by Moliere’s company – he defected to the rival Hôtel de Bourgogne Most of his tragedies are based on classical themes and tragedies Considered the master of the Alexandrine line Major works: Andromaque (1667) Britannicus(1669) Bérénice (1670) Iphigénie (1674) Phèdre (1677)

English Restoration Theatre  Theatres reopened with restoration of Charles II  French influence:  Actresses  Heroic couplets  Neoclassical modes:  Social comedies  Heroic tragedies  Comedy of Manners  Witty-- language driven  Satirical of social mores  Risque  Marriage and money Painting of the interior of the Drury Lane Theater. Thomas Rowlandson. The British Library.

England’s first professional female author: Aphra Behn Novelist  Venice Preserv'd  The History of the Nun  Love Letters between a Nobleman and his sister (1684)  The Fair Jilt (1688)  Oroonoko (c.1688)  The Unfortunate Happy Lady: A True History Playwright  The Forced Marriage (1670)  The Amorous Prince (1671)  Abdelazar (1676)  The Rover ( )  The Feign'd Curtezans (1679)  The City Heiress (1682)  The Lucky Chance (1686)  The Lover's Watch (1686)  The Emperor of the Moon (1687)  Lycidus (1688)

Commerce The Royal Exchange. Engraving by Bartolozzi. The British Library The Rise of the Middle Class Increased Literacy Leisure Time International Trade Empire Building

Triangular Trade

Global Cooling: The Little Ice Age  Shorter growing seasons  Rising grain prices  Increased illness – outbreaks of the plague in Europe and China  Shifts in fishing and trade patterns Frost Fair on the Thames River, 1677

Pieter Breughel, 1565 Hunters in the Snow

Transculturation  “The Age of Discovery was largely over, the age of imperialism as yet to come. The seventeenth century was the age of improvisation.” Timothy Brook, Vermeer’s Hat  Mutual influence among cultures – negotiation and borrowing  Age of mobility  Europeans adopted new technologies: magnetic compass, paper, gunpowder – all invented in China

China’s Demand for Silver

Potosi Silver Mine New Spain Center for Chinese traders Manila Galleon

Vermeer The Geographer Vermeer The Astronomer 1668 Model: Antoine Van Leeuwenhoek? Genre painting – science embodied in astronomy and geography

The Terrestrial Globe The Celestial Globe

Jan Vermeer, View of Delft, 1658 Warehouse of the Dutch East India Company The pre-eminence of Holland in Global Trade: The Dutch East Indies Co.

Officer and Laughing Girl

Interior with a Dordrecht Family (detail) Nicolaes Maes 1656 Delft China 18th Century, Companie Des Indes

Girl Reading a Letter Woman Asleep,

Woman Holding a Balance Dutch Silver Ducat

The Emergence of WOMEN ARTISTS and WOMEN LOOKING AT THEMSELVES

Sofonisba Anguisola c Self-Portrait, c  Italian  Spent 10 yrs. at court of Philip II in Madrid  An aristocrat, not daughter of painter but encouraged by her father  Numerous self-portraits -- more than any other artist between Dürer & Rembrandt

Sofonisba Anguisola, The Chess Game, 1559

Sofonisba Anguisola, Portrait of Queen Anne of Austria, 1570

Sofonisba Anguisola, Self-Portraits, 1610 and 1620

Lavinia Fontana  Daughter of painter in Bologna  First woman to have normal successful artistic career -- she had a very helpful husband who supported her in her career and helped to care for their many children  extant paintings (over 100 listed) including still- lifes, small and large scale Biblical and mythological works, and altarpieces (very rare for women artists of this time period)  In 1572, she received a papal commission and was elected to the Roman Academy. Self Portrait, 1577

Lavinia Fontana, Noli Me Tangere, 1581

Clara Peeters  Clara Peeters was born possibly in Antwerp, Holland.  By the time she was seventeen, her works indicate that she was already a highly accomplished artist.  She specialized in still life studies of gorgeous objects, luscious fruits, exotic flowers and expensive food.  She was also a portraitist whose works included self- portraits. Still Life, n.d.

Vanitas c. 1610

Artemesia Gentileschi  Daughter of painter Orazio Gentileschi, a follower of Caravaggio  Raped by teacher Agostino Tossi  Married to a Florentine and moved to Florence  Considered to be 1st influential woman artist  Biblical and mythical subjects with heroines -- female nudes-- psycho- drama rather than physical charm  Strong personality Self-Portrait as a Female Martyr, c. 1615

Artemesia Gentileschi, Jael and Sisera, 1620

Artemesia Gentileschi, Judith Slaying Holofernes,  Judith as model of psychic liberation -- female who acts- confrontation of sexes from female point of view

Artemesia Gentileschi, Judith and Her Maidservant

Artemesia Gentileschi, Cleopatra, Her first reclining nude -- departs from tradition by showing effects of gravity

Woman Playing the Lute, Artemesia Gentileschi

Artemesia Gentileschi, Pittura, 1630

Judith Leyster  One of 2 female members of the painters' guild in her native Haarlem  an independent Dutch artist with her own workshop & pupils.  Her work was influenced by Frans Hals  Lively genre scenes popular with newly- rich merchants. Self-Portrait, 1635

Judith Leyster, The Musicians,

Judith Leyster, A Game of Cards

Mary Beale,  Daughter of a puritan rector, an amateur painter.  Became a well- known portrait painter who supported her family by her painting. Self-Portrait, 1675

 Her husband, Charles gave up his occupation in the Patents Office to join her in her studio to prepare her canvases and mix her paints.  He experimented with pigments and became an expert in the field, sometimes selling his ideas from his “tryalls” to other artists.  It was interest not necessity that made Mary and Charles such a good partnership.

Mary Beale Portrait of Aphra Behn

Elisabetta Sirani ( )  Daughter of a Bolognese artist, she took over his studio when he developed gout.  Known for religious and historical scenes.  Opened the first studio for women artists. Self-Portrait, ca. 1660

Elisabetta Sirani Timoclea, 1659

“This year's (1994) Traditional Holiday stamp is the first to depict the work of a woman artist. Elisabetta Sirani's Virgin & Child was chosen for the stamp. An artist of international renown, Sirani created 190 pieces during the 1660s, a time when there were very few women artists. She established a painting school for women in her early twenties and was so beloved in her native Bologna that the entire city went into mourning when she died at age twenty-seven. Her depiction of the Virgin and child has been admired both for its technical mastery and for its tenderness.” Virgin and Child, 1663 Elisabetta Sirani