Economic conditions Essay

In this essay I’m going to argue that social, political, or economic conditions cannot alter the nature and meaning of art, with specific reference to works of art from Baroque and Rococo epochs. Evaluating a work of art is always a complicated task. Since the perception of art and beauty is highly subjective, it’s hard to think of universal criteria to measure artistic qualities of a certain piece. However, there is a broad consensus among the critics that there are certain criteria they apply when judging an art work. It’s possible to focus on four main criteria to judge an art work. First and foremost, the piece should be aesthetically pleasing, i. e. correspond to the all-common notion of beauty. It should be harmonious and evoking positive, elevated feelings. While there is a trend among some contemporary artists to make their pieces arouse indignation and disgust with a view to delivering a certain message or merely astonishing the public, I strongly deem that art and aesthetics are inherently linked. For instance, a typical example of baroque sculpture — St. Theresa in Ecstasy of the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome created by Bernini — is perfect in its form, since it captures the beauty and harmony together with motion and energy. Same is true about Rococo sculpture: looking at ‘Amour menacant’ created by Etienne Maurice Falconet, it’s impossible not to admire the high degree of sophistication and perfection the statue of the little angel embodies. The second criterion I’m going to use is quality of workmanship, i. e. the mastery of artists’ skills. Another criterion which is very important is the uniqueness of artists’ manner. Great artists stand out for the peculiarity of their individual style. Some of them prefer to pioneer new forms and techniques, yet this is not a prerequisite for creating a style of your own. Many talented artists don’t break away from the tradition but simply find their own niche within the existing patterns of expression. While some artists of the Baroque and Rococo epoch were considered rebellious, e. g. Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, they didn’t violate basic rules of harmonious and aesthetically pleasing artistic expression. Jean-Honore Fragonard’s manner was also innovative in many instances, sine he introduced a delicate interplay of light and shadow as well as implicit eroticism into mainstream French painting, however he adhered to the generally accepted notion of what beauty and art are. Finally, the forth criterion is the message the piece is trying to send. Here it’s necessary to take into account the importance and relevance of the message as well as how successful the piece is in delivering it. Baroque and Rococo painters mainly focused on the depiction of mythological and religious scenes as well as the scenes from the daily life of the upper circles of society. While both themes that dominated the artistic discourse might seem to be detached from the real life, they served an important goal of educating the public about mythological and religious narratives or captured the spirit of their times through the portrayal of the privileged members of society The most persuasive proof of the thesis that social, political, or economic conditions cannot alter the nature and meaning of art is the fact that nowadays we still admire great works of art irrespective of the epoch they belong to.