Languages of Baroque / Iconography

Iconography developed into a complex language largely expressed in unity throughout all of the arts.

While the precepts of religious iconography were responding to changes in the political and religious landscape, the same was true of secular iconography, which became more complex. Expressed in a variety of motifs – mythological themes to portraits and lives; apotheosis to battles; symbolic representations and allegories to genre painting and landscapes – iconography developed into a complex language largely expressed in unity throughout all of the arts. During the Baroque period, in both religious and secular art, the iconographic theme was directly involved with the problem of allegorical representation. All artists, therefore, used specific handbooks to attend to the complex allegories that they frequently employed.

NameDynastyDetailsJustification
The Hunt of Diana1616–1617Borghese Gallery
Rome, Latium, Italy
The canvas was painted for Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini, nephew of the preceding Pope Clement VIII, who had a strong dislike for the Borghese family. However, Cardinal Scipione wanted the painting for himself and had it forcibly removed from the artist's studio, imprisoning the artist for several days.
Allegory of Autumn1650–1655Collezioni Comunali d'Arte
Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
The painting is part of a series depicting the Four Seasons painted for the counts Legnani by Pier Francesco Cittadini, a Milanese painter celebrated for his still-lives and portraits. Bacchus, supervising the wine-making, personifies the allegory of Autumn; a wreath of seasonal fruit, following the Flemish tradition, frames the scene.
View of the Monastery and Riverbank in Belém1657National Museum of Ancient Art
Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
The painting is an admirable veduta, showing two outstanding building projects carried out during the reign of King D. Manuel (1495–1521): the Belém Tower and the Jerónimos Monastery.
Jupiter and Semele1693?Moravian Gallery, Brno
Governor's Palace, Brno, Moravia, Czech Republic
The decorative composition of a pair of nudes in dramatic poses conveys a story from Greek mythology retold by Ovid in the third volume of Metamorphoses. The painted frame of the picture suggests that the canvas was part of an interior decoration, the location for which is as yet unknown.
Still life with Fruits, Parrots and a White Cockatoo1710sHungarian National Gallery
Budapest, Közép-Magyarország / Central Hungary, Hungary
Bogdány was a Hungarian painter who studied in Vienna and in Amsterdam where sources mention him in 1684, and where he may have pursued his studies. Amsterdam, then the centre of middle-class genres, especially still-life, was a perfect school for an artist just starting out.
Prince Livio OdescalchiLast quarter of the 17th century City Museum, Ilok
Ilok, Slavonia, Croatia
The marble bust is by the Roman sculptor of French origin Pierre-Etienne Monnot. Prince Livio Odescalchi was a member of the influential Italian family known historically to have produced important bishops, cardinals and Pope Innocent XI.