Examples of cooperation between classicism and baroque.
An example of cooperation between classicism and baroque are the works of MARCELI BACCIARELLI (1731 —1818), "the first court painter" Stanisław August, and at the same time ..general director of royal buildings” and a member of the Warsaw Society of Friends of Science.
They came from Italy permanently in. 1764 Bacciarelli remained in Warsaw until his death, painting portraits of him and dignitaries from his immediate surroundings, commissioned by the king, paintings on mythological themes and scenes from the history of Poland. Portraits of the king, like for example. Stanisław August in a coronation dress or Stanisław August with his hand resting on an hourglass, rich painting means reflect the dignity of the monarch. The facial features indicate seriousness and firmness. allied with the refinement and culture of the great man of the Enlightenment.
In the second of these portraits, the artist presents the king in a calm position, unforced. Diffuse light coming from the right side, where in the depths a view of the distant landscape opens up, softly models the facial features of the portrayed person, breaking more distinctly in the folds of his home attire.
Of course, As a court painter, Bacciarelli had to idealize the subjects of his portraits, however, he also did so in his historical works. In the scenes from the history of Poland for the Knights' Hall and in the portraits of Polish kings for the Marble Hall of the Royal Castle, he showed only the pathetic and sublime deeds of the rulers.
Just like Bacciarelli's job in the royal service was “immortalizing” the person of the monarch and people from his surroundings, Canaletto's role was to capture views of Warsaw, which owes its development as the capital of the kingdom to the initiative of Stanisław August. Stanislaw August, appointing Canaletto for these tasks, he knew, to whom he entrusts it.
BERNARDO BELOTTO zwany CANALETTO (1720—1780) before he came to the court of Stanisław August, he already had great veduta works to his credit – cityscapes, painted in his native Venice and in Dresden, Vienna and Munich. From r. 1770 working as a royal court painter, created many paintings, which are a true document of the appearance and life of Warsaw at that time. In such works as Castle Square, Krakow suburb, Honey Street, Krasiński Square, Iron Gate Square, Church of the Visitation, Arsenal and many others, the artist with incredible accuracy recreated the appearance of the buildings down to the smallest detail and ornament, which allowed architects - conservators reconstructing the historic buildings of Warsaw after the destruction during the Second World War - to use the paintings of the royal painter when drawing up detailed reconstruction plans.
Of course, Canaletto's paintings are not only documentary, but above all artistic value. Painted in greenish-golden-brown tones, they cover large areas of the city, draw the viewer in, they almost make him participate in everyday life, the rich life of the capital. Careful observation, color interest, unordered details of life make Canaletto's paintings genre works, showing the realities and customs of that era: machinery, likes, activities of residents from different social strata, both beggars, like the nobility, magnates, peasants, soldiers, street vendors. If the architecture in Canaletto's paintings is painted a bit dry, with rationalistic accuracy and coolness, small staffage of these images (human and animal figures) is reproduced with masterful freedom and the verve of a true realist. It is not for nothing that Canaletto is considered a precursor of genre and realistic painting, which developed in Poland in the mid-nineteenth century.
Canaletto also devoted several canvases to historical events, and his The Election of Stanisław August combines realistic insight with the ability to compose crowded scenes.
The late period of Polish classicism is represented by the work of several Warsaw painters, operating since the nineteenth century.
Classicist, "sculptural" modeling of figures and cool colors can be found in slightly dry ones, but painterly correct paintings by Aleksander Kokular (1793—1846). These are m. in. Oedipus and Antigone, Priam's death, portraits and scenes from Polish history, like for example. Jadwiga's wedding with Jagiełło.
Compared to Kokular, ANTONI BRODOWSKI was an excellent painter (1784—1832), student of David. I on, like Aleksander Kokular and many other painters of that time, he created paintings on ancient and mythological subjects (np. Oedipus and Antigone, Saul's anger at David). However, he became famous above all as a portraitist, author of portraits of many outstanding personalities of that time, among them members of the Warsaw Society of Friends of Science: Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, Stanisław Kostka Potocki and Wojciech Bogusławski. For Brodowski, technical and formal perfection is not the artist's ultimate goal, but only the means necessary to obtain one's own, unique expression of the work. Two of the artist's finest paintings: Self-Portrait and Brother's Portrait, painted on dark backgrounds, softly modeled, they reveal not only classicist features (expressive drawing, muted color), but also the romantic charm and realistic insight of the characterization.
During the so-called. of Warsaw classicism, the works of Bonawentura Dąbrowski are a completely clear harbinger of realism (1803—1861), young representative, progressive bourgeoisie. In his masterpiece of. 1840, portrait of the merchant Pelizzaro, a lively townsman, owner of a thriving business, is characterized sharply and bluntly. He is confident and optimistic about the future, which the new social situation outlined for people of not "good birth", but ambition, diligence and energy.