Baroque Art Period

He also spent a considerable amount of time in Rome, wherehe painted altarpieces for the churches of Santa Croce diGerusalemme (1602; now in Hopital du Petit-Paris, Grasse,France) and the Chiesa Nuova (1607; now in Musee dePeinture et Sculpture, Grenoble, France), his first widelyacknowledged masterpieces.Peter Paul RubensFlemish Baroque PainterThe Prophet ElijahReceivingBread and Water froman AngelHis reputationestablished, Rubensreturned (1608) toAntwerp following thedeath of his mother andquickly became thedominant artistic figure inthe Spanish Netherlands.Union of Earthand Water1618Virgin ChildEnthroned withSaints1627-28Vermeer's artistic formation is still very uncertain.His father, Reynier Janz was an innkeeper andmember of the Saint Luke’s Guild. He bought and soldpaintings. In those times, Inn keeping and artdealing often went together.As with every other Dutch painter, he was required toundergo a six-year apprenticeship with a masterpainter who belonged to the Saint Luke's Guild, a apowerful trade organization which regulated thecommerce of painters and artisans. The youngapprentice was thoroughly instructed in the art andcraft of painting and, upon his admission to the guild,was permitted to sign and sell his own paintings as wellas sell those of his fellow painters.VermeerGirl withPearlEarring4