Getlein, Mark. Living with Art, 9th Ed., New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Citing in MLA Format:
Between the Baroque and Rococo era, according to Getlein in Living with Art 2010, Rococo is a development and extension of the baroque style. Rococo is not only a play on the word baroque, but also French for rocks and shells. Rococo is known for its ornate style and several points of contrast. Baroque on the other hand was an art of cathedrals and palaces . The Mirror Room of the Amailienburg in Nymphenburg is a great example of the Rococo style of art with its gentle pastels, overall intimacy, multiple mirrors and its illusion of the sky and with that baroque is large in scale and rococo is lighter. According to Getlein p. 398, Rococo architecture first originated in France but was soon exported, some examples of this type of art are found in Germany. Hall of mirrors on page 392 by Charles Le Brun is an example of baroque art, it is a more intense piece of work that is more vibrant and energetic vice the lighter decoration s used in The Mirror Room.
The Renaissance covered the period from 1400 to 1600, which brought numerous changes that included new techniques in art, the way art was viewed, and how people viewed themselves. The term renaissance means "rebirth" and it refers to the renewal of interest in Roman and Greek cultures. During the period scholars who called themselves humanists believed in the pursuit of knowledge and striving to reach their full creative and intellectual potential. This new way of thinking had many impacts for art during this period. Artists became interested in observing the natural world and studied new techniques on how to accurately depict it. Various techniques were developed such as the effect of light known as chiaroscuro; noting that distant objects appeared smaller than nearer ones they developed linear perspective; seeing how detail and colored blurred with distance, they developed atmospheric perspective. The nude also reappeared in art, for the body was one of God's most noble creations; an example of this can be seen in figure 16.8 the statue of David, by the artist Michelangelo.The primary difference between the Renaissance and the prior period of time was that artists were no longer viewed craftsmen, they were now recognized as intellectuals.
The Northern Renaissance developed more gradually than in Italy. Northern artists did not live among the ruins of Rome nor did they share the Italians' sense of a personal link to the creators of the Classical past; thus affecting the focus and characteristics between the two cultures.Renaissance artists in northern Europe focused more on small details of the visible world, such as decoration or the outer appearance of their subjects. An example of the detailed style of Northern Renaissance art can be seen in figure 16.20 the Ambassadors by Holbein.Italian Renaissance artists focused more on accurately depicting the underlying muscular structure of the human body.