The traditional way of assessing the importance of an artist such as Federico Barocci is influence.
Who looked at him?
Who was aware of him?
Certainly, he was very important for artists working in the 17th century.
We are now aware that once Barocci framed a subject a certain way, many followed suit.
So he was very influential.
The 'Deposition' in Perugia is a remarkable painting.
It's sort of full of energy and life, with figures sweeping in from the sides – the
Magdalene rushing in to support the swooning Virgin.
Barocci enlivens even further the drama of the picture by his use of colour.
His absolute obsession and fascination with colour, tone, and light meant that drawing
- just with pen and ink, say - wasn't enough for him.
He already wanted to explore the colour, harmonies, and relationships in his preparatory works.
Very early in his career, he realised that using colours was a way of deepening his preparation
for paintings.
What makes the 'Entombment' a particularly compelling painting is seeing in situ over
the altar of the church.
It’s very clear that the body of Christ, central to the celebration of the Mass, is
being taken to the slab at the lower left and by extension to the altar.
So it really is this wonderful link between the space of the church and the experience
of the devout worshipper who comes to the altar, and the events that take place within
the altarpiece.
This is really a key example of a painting that once others had seen it, no one could
quite think of the 'Entombment' in any other way, or at least not to have been impressed
and influenced by Barocci’s rethinking of this central issue in Christian imagery.
Barocci’s 'Visitation' is one of his great works of art.
At first glance, it seems simple, but in fact reflects a great deal of thinking and reworking,
in the preparatory process.
He explored who was going to be up, who was going to be down, whose hand was going to
be extended.
It was a complicated process to get the relationship between the two women perfect.
Elizabeth is a lovely older woman, very sympathetic.
Mary is a bit aloof, as she should be.
And it’s very carefully composed with these beautiful colours, this archway, this glimpse
into the city behind them.
It’s really a stunning achievement.
Barocci painted the 'Last Supper' over roughly nine years.
It’s really one of the culminating masterpieces of his career.
It’s a large painting, and Barocci beautifully captures the individual personality and relationships
of these 12 apostles.
The 'Last Supper' also introduces, as Barocci always does, a new take on the Last Supper,
the opening of the sky, this angelic host comes down.
It really is a marvellous effect of light and dark.
In many cases, people have not been aware of how complex the thinking that Barocci brought
to these pictures.
They are so charming, that one needn’t necessarily worry about that.
One can appreciate them as these very beautiful paintings, but they do reward that greater
reflection on the meanings of these stories.