——Exploration and Discovery at the Ashmolean Museum of Oxford University, UK No. 9

Because I have a strong interest in the music of the Baroque period, I especially like to listen to the musicians of the Baroque period. Bach, who loved houses and churches, also paid special attention to the paintings of the Baroque period when browsing the Ashmolean Art Gallery. Exhibition Hall 46 on the second floor is dedicated to the paintings of this period.

A brief introduction——

Baroque originally meant irregularly shaped pearls and was an art form. Due to the popularity of this art style, later generations called it the Baroque period. . The music produced during this period is called Baroque music. The Baroque period is an era in Western art history, roughly the seventeenth century. Its earliest manifestation was in Italy in the late sixteenth century, and it reached its peak in the eighteenth century.

Some characteristics of Baroque music are: strong and jumping rhythm, the use of polymelody and polyphonic music, and a greater emphasis on the ups and downs of the music, so it pays great attention to changes in intensity, and the speed remains constant from beginning to end. Change.

Representative figures of the Baroque period include: Bach, Vivaldi and Handel. Bach is the father of music, which shows his high prestige; Vivaldi became famous all over the world with his "Four Seasons"; Handel is a master of melody, and his works have an elegance; what they left behind is A great fortune from the Baroque period.

Baroque art is a seventeenth-century European art style that uses exaggerated movement and clearly discernible details to create drama, tension, and drama in sculpture, painting, architecture, literature, dance, and music. , cumbersome and magnificent effect. This style originated in Rome, Italy around 1600, and then spread to most parts of Europe. The popularity and success of the Baroque style is related to the encouragement of the Roman Catholic Church.

Representative figures of painting art include: Caravaggio, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Rembrandt, Peter Paul Rubens, Velázquez, and Jan Fume Er, wait.

Exhibition Hall 46 on the second floor of the Ashmolean Museum, Baroque Art, 1600-1700.

Baroque art is full of strong vitality.

This innovative style developed in Italy around 1600. Anists explore realism and modes of expression in painting and sculpture. Some people favor an idealized type of art based on the study of antiques.

Rome attracts artists and collectors with its classical heritage. Italian and Nordic artists, including Pietro da Cortona, Nicolas Poussin and Claude Lorrain, immigrated here. Wealthy patrons competed to collect exquisite works of art.

Rome is the main center of mandates for the Catholic Church. The Church promoted a new piety that required a more direct and emotional art.

The gallery is named after Mrs. W. F. R. Weldon, a long-time patron who bequeathed her art collection to the Ashmoleans in 1936.

Matthias Stone (1589/1600- after 1652) "Blow Hot, Blow Cold, Circa 1640" ~

On loan from a private collection, 2018.

"Blow Hot, Blow Cold" tells a story from Aesop's fable "The Jungle God and the Traveler". In this story, a peasant blows on Seth, the god of the forest, to warm his cold fingers. The god of the forest was even more surprised when he saw the farmer cooling down a bowl of hot soup in the same way. This theme is particularly popular in Dutch art because it cleverly combines elements of classical mythology and everyday life. The Dutch-born artist Stone moved to Italy, where he worked in the style of Caravaggio, favoring dramatic lighting effects. Here, the evening dining scene is illuminated by a single candle.

Ivory sculpture "Venus and Cupid" by Georg Peter (1601/2-1634) ~

Purchased in 1932.

Petel was an expert in ivory carving and was highly praised for his work. He worked in Munich, the South of the Netherlands, Genoa and Augsburg. This figurine is a liberal adaptation of the ancient statue of Aphrodite at Cnidos in the Vatican. His works were collected by Peter Paul Rubens, who was a close friend of his. He sculpted the statue in 1624 while visiting the painter.

This may be "Venus and Cupid" collected by George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham in 1635.

"The Glory of Germany" by Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), oil on canvas ~

Accepted by the British government and belongs to Christopher Norris ) portion of the inheritance tax on the estate.

Rubens was inspired by a beautifully carved ancient Roman relief. It was discovered in Paris in 1620 by his friend Nicolas-Claude Fabry de Peresque.

This relief is a caricature depicting a German farewell to his parents, the Emperor Tiberius and his mother Livia, as well as other past and present family members. In this greatly enlarged work, Rubens brings life and warmth to the cold stone. He also restored two missing heads. In 1626, he gave the painting as a gift to Peresque.

Francesco Buoneri, Cecco del Caravaggio (recorded between 1610 and 1621) "The interior is decorated with a "Still Life, A Young Man Holding a Musical Instrument", oil on canvas~

Purchased in 1936.

The man looked outside with a challenging expression. He is sitting in the kitchen with an ocarina in his hand, and there are various fruits, bread and pottery on the table. Other elements such as his costume, violin, or expensive glassware indicate that this is more than just an everyday scene.

Secco was a close follower of Caravaggio, and we know of only a few of his paintings. He likes works with strong lighting and mysterious themes. Although Secco's paintings contain elements of realism, his paintings are very dramatic. The unusual angle of the table is typical of his personal style.

"Testimony" by Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641), circa 1619, oil on canvas~

By Charles T. Maude Offered in 1869.

The dead Christ, blood flowing from his wounds, is removed from the cross and mourned by the Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene and John the Evangelist. The Sacrifice of Christ refers to the Eucharist or Sacrament of the Mass. Because of its emphasis on physical suffering, this altarpiece could serve as a call to repentance.

Van Dyck probably completed this painting around 1619, before he left Antwerp for England. Its original location is unknown. Thoughtful emotional appeal is typical of seventeenth-century religious art.

Claude Lorrain (1604/05-1682) "Ascanius Shooting Silvia's Stag", oil on canvas~

Gifted by Mrs. W. F. R. Weldon in 1926.

Ascanius, son of the Trojan leader Aeneas, is hunting in the Roman countryside. Sadly, his actions will lead to war between the Trojans and Latins.

The silver-toned landscape is harmonious and peaceful. Gathering clouds and breezes ripple among the tall trees, evoking the violence to come.

This poetic scene comes from Virgil's Aeneid. Claude painted this painting for Prince Lorenzo Onofrio Colonna in Rome during the last year of his life. It was originally intended as a companion piece to another landscape painting, Dido and Aeneas before Carthage, painted by Claude in 1675-76.

Mercury and Cupid, circa 1626, by Adrian de Vries (c. 1556-1626), bronze sculpture~

On loan from a private collection, 2017.

Dutchman Adrian de Vries was the most talented Baroque sculptor of his generation. After working with Giambologna in Italy, he was appointed court sculptor to Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II in Prague. This vibrant statue was cast at the Royal Foundry towards the end of the sculptor's life. Although inspired by Gian Bologna's world-famous Mercury, it is a rare example of de Vries' later style. Mercury and Cupid are sculpted from soft wax, giving them an almost grotesque form while maintaining perfect anatomical proportions.

Nicolas Poussin (1593/94-1665) Discourse on Moses, oil on canvas~

Daughter of the late Sir Edward Fry Purchased with funding from the Arts Fund through generous donations, 1950.

Pharaoh ordered all the sons of the Hebrews to be drowned in the Nile River (Exodus 2:2-4). Moses' mother put her child into an ark made of reeds. Pharaoh's daughter came to the river, rescued the child, and named him Moses, while his sister Miriam looked on.

Poussin painted this painting in 1654 for his friend the artist Jacques Stella. He chose to depict an episode of sadness and despair rather than the popular scenes in "Searching for Moses." The story takes place in ancient Rome, the future home of Christianity. The Sphinx and the River God are symbols of the Nile.

Exhibition Hall 47 on the second floor of the Ashmolean Museum, German and Flemish Art 1400–1650

The artworks in this room are from Germany, Created by Flemish and Spanish artists from the late fifteenth to the mid-seventeenth century.

In fifteenth-century Italian art, enthusiasm for Roman sculpture and architecture remained undiminished. By the early sixteenth century, northern artists had begun to modify their regional traditions in response to Italian Renaissance art. Several painters here completed their studies in Italy and brought the latest trends in Italian painting back to their hometown.

Hans Sch?ufelein (about 1480/85-1539/40) "Christ Farewell to His Mother", oil painting on wood~

With emblem Signature, dated 1514. On loan from a private collection, London.

The subject matter of this painting is unusual. The story of how Christ was separated from his mother on the eve of the Last Supper does not appear in the Bible but appears for the first time in medieval texts.

Albrecht Durer illustrated this theme in a woodcut that became a model for several of his German contemporaries. Among them was Sch?ufelein, who took the middle group from Dürer's engravings but added the apostles on the left and some additional figures on the right. It is engraved with the artist's symbol, a shovel ("schaufel" in German), a pun on his name.

Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), Emperor Maximilian I, ink print ~

Courtesy of Chambers Hall, 1855 .

In 1634, Rubens was commissioned to design a series of street decorations to celebrate the entry of the newly appointed Spanish-Dutch Governor Ferdinand into Antwerp. This is one of a number of oil sketches Rubens made of the artists and craftsmen who realized his designs.

This sketch was a study for a statue of Emperor Maximilian, one of twelve large gilded statues that adorned the Emperor's Portico.

South Germany, late fifteenth century portrait, "Portrait of a Young Woman Holding Flowers" ~

Bequest of William W. Spooner, 1968.

This exquisite portrait is thought to have been painted by the famous printmaker Mir von Landester, who died in 1510. Little is known about his work as a painter, and it would be difficult to prove that he painted this painting.

It may form a pair with a similar portrait of her fiancé. The pink or carnation she holds in her left hand is associated with an engaged couple.

(Above) Exhibition Hall 48 on the second floor of the Ashmolean Museum, Dutch and Flemish Still-life Paintings.

Still life painting originated in the sixteenth century, when artists began to create individual works using inanimate objects, such as fruits or flowers, that had appeared in religious and historical works. It first appeared in Italy, but it is an art form primarily associated with Dutch and Flemish artists of the seventeenth century, many of whom specialized in a branch of still life painting - flowers, fruit, fish, Banquetware, cooking utensils and other items. Sometimes they give their paintings a symbolic meaning by referencing the brevity of life, but most are probably to be appreciated primarily as examples of the artist's skill in creating the illusion of familiar objects.

In 1939, Theodore W. H. Ward (1879-1955) commemorated his wife, Daisy Linda Ward (formerly known as Te Lavers (1883-1937) donated all the paintings to the museum. Daisy W. H. Ward herself was a painter and opera singer. (Manual available for visitors)

Henri Fantin-Latour (1836-1904) "Still Life with White Roses in a Wine Glass, 1872", oil on canvas~< /p>

Bequeathed by Mrs. W. F. R. Weldon in 1936.

Fantine Latour was a French artist best known for his flower paintings. Among the more than thirty kinds of flowers painted by Fantine Latour, roses are the most common. This still life is a wonderful example of his combination of clear glass and roses. For this purpose he often used English carved wine glasses. The broad brushstrokes used by Fantine-Latour contrast sharply with the surrounding Dutch and Flemish still lifes, which were painted in more elaborate forms only a few centuries earlier.

English guitars from the 18th to early 19th centuries~

Aelbert Cuyp (1620–1691) "Duck West Jergent, 1647- 1650", ink print~

2018, on loan from a private collection.

The Western Jergent duck is a remarkable bird. Throughout her life, she lays over a hundred eggs per year. The owner of Westjetgen was particularly fond of her and commissioned this painting for her in 1647 when she was 20 years old. The attached Dutch poem appears to be Sijtergen's autobiography. The second inscription sadly records her death three years later.

The unusual fact that Sijetgen was immortalized in a painting, including a poem dedicated to her, shows that she must have been one of the most precious animals of the seventeenth century.

The above introduces exhibition halls 46, 47 and 48 on the second floor of the Ashmolean Museum.

Exhibition Hall 46 is Baroque Art (1600-1700), full of intense vitality. Its artistic characteristics are: the use of exaggerated movements and clearly identifiable details to create dramatic, tense, cumbersome and magnificent effects.

Exhibition Hall 47 is German and Flemish Art (Flamish Art) 1400-1650. In fifteenth-century Italy, enthusiasm for ancient Roman sculpture and architecture continued unabated. In the early sixteenth century northern artists began to respond to Italian Renaissance art, bringing the latest trends in Italian painting back to their homeland.

Exhibition Hall 48 is Dutch and Flemish Still-life Paintings. Still life painting originated in the sixteenth century, first appearing in Italy, and is primarily associated with Dutch and Flemish artists of the seventeenth century. Still life painting is probably mostly a technique used by artists to create the illusion of familiar objects.