Renaissance and Baroque

     This painting is called Hercules and Acheloüs and was created by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem in 1590. Cornelisz van Haarlem was a Dutch artist in the Baroque time period and was one of the leading mannerist artists in the Netherlands. The size of the painting above is 75 5/8 x 96 in. and was made with oil on canvas. The painting provides a great deal of texture as well as the scale between Hercules and the gaint Antaeus and the nymphs in the background. This painting provides a great deal of amplified perspective, depth of space, and a high contrast of light & dark. Hercules and Acheloüs are shown with a "spotlight" on them while the rest of the portrait is darker in comparison. It is quite dramatic to see a man pinning a bull down with brute strength. It is truly a great work of art from the Baroque era. According to Ovid's popular Mtamorphoses, "the river god Achelous transformed himself into a bull in order to fight Hercules for the favors of princess Deianeira of Calydon. In the struggle one of his horns snapped off: nymphs in the right background fill it with flowers and fruit creating a cornucopia (horn of plenty)."In the background, you can see Hercules crushing the gaint Antaeus and slaying the Lernaean hydra.

     This painting is called the Portrait of a Man in Armor with Two Pages. This painting was made by Paris Boron who was an Italian artist in the 1500s. It was painted in 1548 in Venice. The size of this painting is 46 x 62 in and was made with oil on canvas. This painting provides a great deal of realism, directional lighting, and a dark theme. In this painting, one can see how the presumed officer is getting prepared in what seems to be an upcoming battle that's about to unfold. The scenery is quite dark and moody in which it gives an unpleasant feeling of sadness to the viewer. According to the Metropolitan Museum, "This painting shows a high-ranking officer with two pages, one of whom, an African, holds his helmet while the other fastens the armor on his right arm. The extensive landscape background, with stormy skies over the advancing armies, and the mood of melancholy are unique to Bordon. This work was much esteemed in the seventeenth century, when it was sold to Cardinal Leopoldo de’ Medici in Florence."