Modern Era

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Who is Baroque?

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  Baroque was born in Italy, and later adopted in France, Germany, Netherlands, and Spain. The word "baroque" was first applied to the art of period from the late 1500s to the late 1700s, by critics in the late nineteen century. Baroque covers a wide range of styles and artists.
   In painting and sculpture we recognize three main forms of Baroque:

   Baroque that was primarily associated with the religious tensions within Western Christianity: division on Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. In response to the Protestant Reformation of the early sixteen century, the Roman Catholic Church had embarked in the 1550s on a program of renewal known as the Counter - Reformation. As part of the program, the Catholic Church used art of the magnificent display for the campaign. It was intended to be both doctrinally correct and visually and emotionally appealing so that it could influence the largest possible audience. But as the century progressed the style made inroads into the Protestant countries. Main representatives of this form of Baroque were Bernini and Rubens.
   Baroque that use revolutionary technique of dramatic, selective illumination of figures out of deep shadow - a hallmark of Baroque painting. Contrary to the traditional idealized interpretation of religious subjects, Baroque realistically presents models from the streets. Caravaggio is key painter of this form of Baroque.
   Baroque that was developed mainly in Flemish countries emphasis realism of everyday life. It has been seen in works of Rembrandt and Vermeer.

   At the same time, scientific advances and exploration with the development of the press, forced Europeans to change the view of the world. New knowledge in astronomy was of great importance. In the eighteen century scientific literature became so plenteous, that the period has gotten the name - Age of Enlightenment. Economic growth in most European countries and Colonial America, both North and South, helped create a large, prosperous middle class ardent to invest in fine houses and even palaces. The art produced in the American colonies was closely related to that of Europe.
   The new Baroque style is a dynamic art which reflects the growth of absolutist monarchies and is suitable to manifest power. It is also known as "the style of absolutism". Baroque is a style in which painters, sculptors, and architects rummaged emotion, movement, and variety in their works. Baroque favors higher volumes, exaggerates decorations, adds colossal sculptures, huge furniture etc. Sense of movement, energy, and tension are dominant impressions. Strong contrasts of light and shadow often enhance dramatic effects. In architecture, there was a special attention given to animation and grandeur achieved through scale, the dramatic use of light and shadow.

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Who is Robert Boyle?

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Robert Boyle was born at Lismore Castle, Munster on 25 January 1627, the fourteenth child and seventh son of Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork. Robert Boyle was educated mainly by tutors and himself. He had no formal university education but read widely and made contact with many of the most important natural philosophers of his day, both at home and abroad.

He had independent means which enabled him to have his own laboratory and to support religious charities. He was active in the ‘Invisible College’, an informal body devoted to the ‘new philosophy’ which in 1663 became the Royal Society, of which he was a Council member. He moved to Oxford in 1654, where he set up a laboratory with Robert Hooke as his assistant There he did most of his experimental work until 1668 when he went to live in London with his sister Lady Ranelagh. (reference 90)

He indeed developed a keen interest in the work of artisans because they tend to know more than anyone else about the materials of their trades. He makes a general remark about religious beliefs that ‘though we cannot always give a reason for what we believe, we should ever be able to give a reason why we believe it’, which is surely a precept that guided his attitude to natural philosophy as well.



Boyle was a prolific writer and experimenter on most scientific subjects that were attracting interest at the time. He investigated some alchemical claims about which he was largely skeptical in his published works. He was a devoutly religious man but wrote mainly about practical and ethical religious matters rather than engaging in theological controversy. He argued for the tolerance of different religious beliefs, and spent a good deal of money on propagating the gospel in New England and the Orient, sponsoring translations of the Bible into foreign languages.

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Who is Tycho Brahe?

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Danish name: Tyge Brahe. Danish astronomer who set out to make accurate observations in order to be able to determine whether the Ptolemaic or Copernican system was the more correct. He was sponsored by King Frederick II of Denmark (not to be confused with the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, who lived from 1194-1250), who built him a castle on the island of Hveen (now Ven) between Denmark and Sweden called Uraniborg. This was the first real astronomical observatory, although alchemical researches were pursued in the basement. From Hveen, Brahe used a quadrant circle to sight the planets and stars. His large, accurate instruments yielded measurements which were accurate to within four minutes of arc. He compiled an extensive table of planetary positions and a star catalogue and made the most accurate naked eye astronomical measurements of his day.

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What is Caravel?

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The caravel of the 15th and 16th centuries was a ship with a distinctive shape and admirable qualities. A gently sloping bow and single stern castle were prominent features of this vessel, and it carried a mainmast and a mizzen mast that were generally lateen-rigged. Although the caravel had already been in use for hundreds of years, it developed into an incredibly fast, easily maneuverable vessel by this time, which was noticed by eminent people. This extraordinary vessel gained fame with the Portuguese and Spanish voyages of discovery.

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Who is Ander Celcius?

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Anders Celsius was an astronomer who invented the Celsius temperature scale, the most widely used in the world today. Celsius was primarily an astronomer and did not even start working on his temperature scale until shortly before his death

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Who is Nicholas Coppernicus?

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The Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus was the founder of the heliocentric ordering of the planets, which at the time was a revolutionary idea that stated the Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun.

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Who is Hernan Cortes.

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Hernán Cortés was a Spanish explorer who is famous mainly for his march across Mexico and his conquering of the Aztec Empire in Mexico.
Cortés was born in the Spanish city of Medellín in 1485. When he was a young man, he studied law, but he soon gave that up to seek his fortune in the New World that was just being discovered by Columbus and others.

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Who is Da Gama?

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The Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama led an expedition at the end of the 15th century that opened the sea route to India by way of the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa.

He was born about 1460 at Sines. He was a gentleman at court when he was chosen to lead the expedition to India.

Many years of Portuguese exploration down the West African coast had been rewarded when Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1488. The Portuguese then planned to send a fleet to India for spices and to outflank the Muslims in Africa. Vasco da Gama was placed in command of the expedition.

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Who is Descartes?

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Rene Descartes was a famous French mathematician, scientist and philosopher. He was arguably the first major philosopher in the modern era to make a serious effort to defeat skepticism. His views about knowledge and certainty, as well as his views about the relationship between mind and body have been very influential over the last three centuries.

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Who is Dias?

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Bartholomew Diaz (also Dias) was a very famous explorer in the late 15th century. He served under King John II of Portugal because he was very interested in the riches of Asia. In the early 1480's, he was scared when he was told that no other European explorer had goen as far south down the African coast as he had.