In Caravaggio’s Calling of Saint Matthew, a hard beam enters from the right and lands on the figures at the table. What role does the light play in the narrative?

The dark room in Calling of Saint Matthew leaves faces and hands emerging from shadow. Which Baroque device is most strongly visible?

In Judith Slaying Holofernes, Artemisia Gentileschi lights the women’s arms and the bed while much of the room recedes into darkness. What does this contrast heighten?

Caravaggio places the tax collectors in contemporary-looking dress near the picture surface in Calling of Saint Matthew. What effect does this have on a church viewer?

Christ’s outstretched hand in Calling of Saint Matthew is often said to echo a famous hand in an earlier work. Which work does it recall?

In Caravaggio’s Judith, the old maid only watches. How does the maid in Artemisia Gentileschi’s Judith Slaying Holofernes act differently?

Compare Donatello’s post-victory David, Michelangelo’s poised David, and Bernini’s twisting David. What does Bernini’s figure do differently?

Bernini’s David twists, grimaces, and braces his feet as he swings the sling. Why must a viewer move around this sculpture to understand it fully?

Gentileschi shows Judith during the beheading of Holofernes rather than before or after it. What Baroque preference does this choice show?

Bernini’s David is caught at the instant before the stone leaves the sling. What does this suspended action ask the viewer to imagine?

Michelangelo’s David appears poised before combat, while Bernini’s David strains during the throw. What is the clearest change in Bernini’s treatment?

After the Council of Trent, a Roman patron wants an altarpiece that a congregation can follow quickly. What design best answers that goal?

A church commission asks an artist to encourage worshippers’ devotion through a saint’s story. Why would a scene of intense gestures and visible emotion suit the commission?

The Counter-Reformation did not simply ask painters to make church art ornate. What audience-centered purpose did it emphasize?

Caravaggio painted Calling of Saint Matthew for the Contarelli Chapel in Rome. In which church does it still hang?

Sant’Ignazio in Rome, with Pozzo’s ceiling, was built by a religious order founded in 1540 that led much of the Counter-Reformation. Which order was it?

In Calling of Saint Matthew, which apostle stands in front of Christ, partly hiding him from view?

In the Cornaro Chapel, Bernini combines marble figures, colored marble, gilded rays, architecture, and concealed natural light. How should the chapel be understood?

Members of the Cornaro family appear in sculpted side boxes facing Teresa’s vision. What role do these figures play for visitors?

A concealed window above Ecstasy of Saint Teresa sends actual light down onto gilded rays. What boundary does this device deliberately blur?

Bernini’s bronze baldacchino stands over the papal high altar in Saint Peter’s Basilica. What does its towering placement chiefly do?

The spiral shafts of Bernini’s baldacchino recall Solomonic columns. Why are their twisting forms especially Baroque in effect?

Bernini’s colonnades curve around the oval Piazza San Pietro like two arms reaching toward arrivals. What function does this urban design perform?

At San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, the façade repeatedly curves inward and outward. What visual effect do these concave and convex forms create?

Borromini based both the plan and dome of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane on an oval. How does that shape differ from a centralized circular church?

Inside San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, niches, engaged columns, and curving forms lead the eye toward the oval dome. What is the architectural result?

The dome of San Carlo contains coffers that change shape across its oval surface. Why is this more than copied classical decoration?

San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane was built largely in stucco, a material that can be molded and carved. Why did that suit Borromini’s design?

Andrea Pozzo painted Sant’Ignazio’s nave ceiling so painted columns and sky seem to continue the real church upward. What is this illusionistic architectural painting called?

A marble disk on the floor of Sant’Ignazio marks where a viewer should stand to see Pozzo’s ceiling correctly. Why is that exact position necessary?