Status of Artists in Europe

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In 1636, during his prime years as a sculptor, Bernini was introduced to Costanza Bonarelli, the wife of Matteo Bonarelli who came to Rome to work in Bernini’s workshop. They began to have an affair which ended abruptly in 1640 when he found out that she was also having an affair with his brother, Luigi. An infuriated Bernini clandestinely surprised his brother one evening attempting to end his life by an iron crowbar. Bernini beat Luigi to near death but somehow he managed to walk away with only two broken ribs.[17] The only way that Bernini was going to be satisfied was if he had the honor of putting an end to his brother’s life. Later that evening, Bernini went after Luigi again with a sword forcing him to take refuge in Santa Maria Maggiore, a papal basilica and the largest Catholic Marian church in Rome. Simultaneously, under Bernini’s authority, his servant surprised Costanza at home in bed and cut her face to shreds with a razorblade.[18] This shows how influential Bernini was because his servant was willing to risk his life in order to satisfy Bernini’s wishes.

In the end, the servant that was sent to do Bernini’s dirty work was imprisoned for assault, Costanza was imprisoned for adultery, Luigi was exiled to Bologna and Bernini was simply fined which was quickly pardoned by the pope. [19]

When this all occurred, Bernini had already been working for the pope and was way too valuable to be held accountable for his actions. Because of how talented and important he was at this time, he was able to get away with attempted murder but everyone else involved was punished. Those who were punished were not important figures in society and were chastised suitably according to the law. Since they did not have a very high status, the pope did not care that they were reprimanded however Bernini was very important to Italy and he wasn’t willing to risk him being taken away. The pope tended to care more about the future of art as he was able to see what Bernini had already accomplished. The promise of his future projects and successes played a major role in what saved Bernini because the pope was aware of the beauty Bernini was capable of creating and wasn’t willing to risk his talents being stripped from his control.

Very few works of art can be considered “masterpieces” but this is the least that can be said about Las Meninas painted by Diego Velazquez. Not only is the painting technique phenomenal but the symbolic representations intertwined throughout the piece prove that Velazquez created something truly noteworthy. Velazquez was born in Seville, Spain in 1599 to parents who belonged to the lesser nobility. When he was twelve, he began to study with Francisco de Herra the Elder and Francisco Pacheco which eventually led him to being commissioned to painting a portrait of King Philip IV. Within a day, Velazquez finished the painting and gained a spot in the royal service as the king’s artist. [20]

When Velazquez was appointed court painter in Madrid in 1623, his primary task was to paint portraits for Philip IV, a duty which he performed to perfection. Under the king, Velazquez traveled around Europe and noticed the greater appreciation that artists received in Italy and Belgium compared to Spain.[21] He wanted to elevate the profession of a painter in Spain to that equivalent of what he saw in Italy and Belgium so that artists weren’t just seen as laborers.[22] Las Meninas, a genre painting which Velazquez completed in 1656, was his most famous piece due to all of the internal paradoxes and the many different ways it could be interpreted. Velazquez included himself in this painting which shows how important the artist was becoming in day to day society and how important they wanted to seem. Not only did he include himself, but he made himself one of the crucial points of the picture while the King and Queen were seen in the back as a reflection. The painting was meant to depict the process of the princess getting ready, and the fact that Velazquez included himself in an activity that happened on a daily basis shows how close he was to the royal family and how important artists were becoming. It was very radical to depict an artist in the process of depicting other, far more noteworthy, individuals and this is exactly what Velazquez did.

Madlyn Millner Kahr wrote that Velazquez had a greater purpose in mind when he created the masterpiece- he wanted to gain a coveted title that would ensure him a high place in society.[23] He painted himself in a position that is logical in the context of the painting and for the courtly world of rank. [24]

As art began to become more important, the status of artists began to rise immensely. Artists were becoming more important in the world around them due to the talent they possessed and the hope of their future accomplishments. As the arts were expanding, artists were able to get away with things that a common man wasn’t able to get away with and they were portraying themselves as more important than the patron. This was a huge step for artists as they were getting the recognition that they deserved and slowly obtaining a remarkably dominant role in European society.

Citations:

Barter, James. The Palace of Versailles. San Diego, CA: Lucent, 1999. Print.

"Caravaggio: Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.

"Diego Velázquez." - Spanish Culture. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.

Ebert-Schifferer, S. Caravaggio: The Artist and His Work. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

Elsen, Albert E. Purposes of Art. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston 1972.

"Gian Lorenzo Bernini Biography." Artble. N.p., 2016. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.

Helen Langdon, Caravaggio: A Life. (New York: Chatto & Windus, 1998)

Helt, Crystal. "Bernini." Personal interview. 7 Nov. 2016.

Kahr, Madlyn Millner. “Velázquez and Las Meninas.” The Art Bulletin, vol. 57, no. 2, 1975, pp. 225–246.

Mormando, Franco. Bernini: His Life and His Rome. Chicago: U of Chicago, 2011. Print.

Wolf, Norbert. Diego Velázquez, 1599-1660: The Face of Spain. Köln: Taschen, 1999. Print.

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