Unit 5 Arts of the Baroque Age/ Overview

Assignment 3:  You are the Designer

Too early for HGTV, but in the seventeenth century there was a definite interest in interior design, and the wealthy paid artists to help them get just the right look.  A perfectly decorated estate should reflect the spirit of the times with ornamentation, lavish texture, contrast, movement, and high drama.

Your assignment is to design a piece of decorative art for the interior of a 17th-century nobleman's estate.  This piece should reflect the decorative qualities of the era which are underlined in the passage above.  You may complete the assignment in either of two ways:

Plan 1:  Write a detailed description of the item to give to the nobleman.  This should include the name of the item and all significant details, such as scale, materials, finish. etc.

Plan 2:   Make a drawing (black and white or color, if appropriate) of the item.  Make notes in the margin explaining your details.

For Both: Write a paragraph "artist's statement" explaining your own intention as an artist and why your work will be impressive to the nobleman's peers.

I went for plan 2 and tried to design a large Baroque mirror.

Artist's Statement:

This is a design for a large (5 ft. x 8 ft.) mirror to be hung in the hallway of a nobleman's house.  Its energy, boldly curving lines, and extravagant materials are sure to turn heads of anyone who visits the estate.  It is a masterpiece of fanciful ornamentation, lavish texture, and contrasting materials.

Note:  I began with pencil and graph paper, and it took several tries to come up with an asymmetrical design that had a lot of motion and texture.  All my experiments seemed over-the-top (read: gaudy!) but I guess that's what Baroque's all about. I think the design does capture some of the energy of the era, but it's not quite a masterpiece.