An artwork from this week’s lectures that really stood out to be was the Delftware tulip vase that was directly inspired from Chinese art. I loved how people in the Netherlands recognized their inability to perfect working with porcelain and adapted by using earthenware to create pottery instead. I also think it’s so interesting that they were only able to draw from Chinese art due to the increased amounts of trade happening around the globe. I think that this is what makes global baroque art so interesting, because so many nations and cultures were able to interact with each other and then put their own creative ideas into artworks that originated in a completely different place. This tulip vase in particular connects to Baroque themes in terms of narrative, because although the painting does not depict humans, the animals are telling a story in a way that reminds me of a narrative painting. The two birds in the center are surrounded by beautiful flowers which represent nature, and there appears to be two lizards that make up the handles of the vase. While this isn’t a clear narrative, the fact that the vase was meant to hold tulips which obviously come from the earth, and the paintings depict scenes from nature, there is a narrative-like story which is a Baroque theme. Also, the lizards that make up the handle are very interesting and seem to be unique which connects to the theme of Baroque being different from other “conventional” works of art.
