...time for a little history: sometime in the late 1500s the common people began to voice extremely angry opinions against the corruption of the catholic church. these poor people, who could not afford to buy their way into heaven, bypassed long-accepted church teachings and instead created their own personal relationship with God. their ideas spread wide and turned many from the belief system established by the catholic church. in an attempt to win back its worshippers (and therefore retain its power and glory) the catholic church commissioned many artists to produce works that were religiously faithful to the church. because the church wanted fierce conversion and devotion, the images from this period, known as baroque, are all very dramatic in content and execution. our example by the artist peter paul rubens showcases all the elements that are essential to italian baroque art: violent implied movement, brilliant colors, and a highly religious subject matter. the famous Biblical david is seen as a man about to chop off the head of his mortal enemy, goliath. can you get more violent than first smushing your enemy's head under your foot and then hefting a sword with all your strength so you can sever it in one swing? really dramatic stuff.

...technically, the baroque period is when artists began to test the size and textures of their brushstrokes. in this rueben's work, the lengthy swipes of brush against the canvas helped to suggest movement and momentum. if you'll recall, previous works in the renaissance showed very still and posed figures, none of this baroque agitation. in striving to achieve a constant sense of emotion and movement, baroque artists such as rubens utilized even their brushstrokes to achieve the total effect.

...a lot of baroque art had reflecting moods between the human pictured and the nature in the background. our image shows sheets of rain pouring down in the backdrop with stormy clouds looming in the sky and echoing the fierce determination on david's face. it's almost as if the artist is implying that the strong faith of david is echoed by nature itself (can we get any more melodramatic i ask you). the catholic church loved baroque images such as this because of the obvious strength of religious faith it implies through the subject and the subject's environment.