SPANISH BAROQUE:
EL GRECO, COTAN, RIBERA 
& ZURBARAN

PROF. RONALD E. STEEN
Art Historian & Art Educator

Illustrations (all are details)
El Greco, “The Burial of the Count of Orgaz”, 1586, oil on canvas, Church of Santo Tome , Toledo , Spain
Juan Sanchez Cotan, “Quince, Cabbage, Melon & Cucumber”, 1600, oil on canvas, San Diego Museum of Art
Jusepe de Ribera, “The Beggar, Known as The Club-Foot”, 1642, oil on canvas, The Louvre, Paris
Francisco de Zurbaran, “Saint Francis in Prayer”, 1638-1639, oil on canvas, The Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena

  Ten Sessions: Tuesdays, September 29, through December 8, 2009 , 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
(Excluding Thanksgiving week, Tuesday, November 24^TH)

ABOUT THE BAROQUE AND THE SERIES: Chronologically, the term “Baroque” applies to the art of the 17^th century.  Traditionally applied to the Catholic art of the Counter Reformation, the baroque actually embraces all the countries, Catholic and Protestant, of Western Europe .  Compared with the immediately preceding Renaissance and Mannerist styles, the Baroque is far more varied in its manifestations.  A naturalistic current coexists with a classicist or decorative one.  Clear differences separate the Italian tradition of the period from that of the Netherlands and the French tradition from the Spanish, Austrian and English.   Part I covered the work of the Italian Baroque painters, Vicenzo Campi, Bartolomeo Passerotti, Annibale, Lodovico & Agostino Carracci, Guido Reni and the Architect Carlo Maderno.  Please note that this first series included the work of two women artists Sofonisba Anguisola and Lavina Fontana.  Part II covered the work of the Italian Baroque painter Caravaggio who influenced the development of Catholic Baroque art in Italy as well as art in all European countries.  Part III covered the work of father and daughter artists Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi as well as Domenichino.  Part IV covered the dynamic age of Bernini, sculptor/architect, including his contemporary, architect Pietro da Cortona, the painter Giovanni Guercino and Bernini’s rival architect, Borromini.  Part IV covered the work of Luca Giordano, Gaulli and Pozzo, in Italy as well as the work of French Baroque artists Geroges de La Tour, Poussin, Claude Lorrain and the Architect Charles Le Brun.
            This course will cover the work of the Spanish Baroque artists El Greco, Cotan, Ribera and Zurbaran.
            Subsequent series will cover the work of the Spanish Baroque artists Velazquez and Murillo and in Flanders the work of Rubens and in England Anthony van Dyck, the Baroque in Austria will include Johann van Erlach, Lucas von Hildebrandt and Balthazar Neumann. 

ABOUT THE SERIES FORMAT: The series will present the works of the artists in chronological order and will include information about their work, techniques, influences, style, and life and their significance for the history of Baroque art country by country.  Further information about characteristics of the period as well as a cast of characters will be included.  This series will include the state of the research on this topic at this time in history.  The current facts as known not how the facts were acquired will be the focus.  Works in local public collections in Southern California will be highlighted.

NOTE: This series is complete unto itself and not having been part of prior series on the art of the Italian Renaissance including Mannerism Part I or II will not cause participants any disadvantages.  

GUIDELINES:  
-         Membership is not extended beyond registered members and membership is not transferable.
-         Cancellation made prior to September 1, 2009 will be in full less a small handling charge.
-         No full or partial refund will be paid after September 1, 2009, unless there is a waiting list.
-         A member may bring one guest free to any one lecture during the course of the series.