baroque

In the visual arts, architecture, and music, a style characterized by expressive, flamboyant, and dynamic design. It flourished in Europe between 1600 and 1750, particularly in Catholic countries, where it played a central role in the crusading work of the Catholic Counter-Reformation. To inspire its viewers, the style used elaborate effects to appeal directly to the emotions. In some of its most characteristic works – such as Giovanni Bernini's Cornaro Chapel (Sta Maria della Vittoria, Rome), containing his sculpture Ecstasy of St Theresa (1645–52) – painting, sculpture, decoration, and architecture were designed to create a single, dramatic effect. Many masterpieces of the baroque emerged in churches and palaces in Rome, but the style soon spread throughout Europe, changing in character as it did so. The term baroque has also by extension been used to describe the music and literature of the period (see baroque music), but it has a much less clear meaning in these fields, and is more a convenient label than a stylistic description.

Baroque style is dramatic and theatrical, full of geometrical shapes and confusing spatial domains. Artworks are often decorated with relief and stucco-work (ornamental plaster), as well as being heavily ornamented with patterns and even free-standing sculptures. Its impact was intended to be an extravagant feast for the eyes. Scenes from the Bible in baroque style were designed to instruct, inspire awe, and encourage conversion.

Architecture
The baroque style in architecture emerged as a revolt against the rigid conventions of Italian Renaissance classicism. Instead of the straight lines of classicism, curved and broken lines appeared. Decoration became more important and elaborate, and spaces became more complex, their impact highlighted by the dramatic use of light and shade. Designs were often large-scale, as in Bernini's piazza for St Peter's in Rome. Outstanding baroque architects included Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini, Francesco Borromini, Pietro da Cortona, Baldassare Longhena, and Giovanni Guarini in Italy; Louis Le Vau and Jules Hardouin-Mansart in France; the Asam brothers and Balthasar Neumann in southern Germany; and Christopher Wren, Nicholas Hawksmoor, and John Vanbrugh in Britain.

Painting
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, with his bold use of light and forceful compositions, was an early painter in the baroque style. However, more typical of early baroque were the Carracci family and Guido Reni, who produced grandiose visions in ceiling paintings that included detailed illusions of architectural decoration. The works of Pietro da Cortona and Il Guercino exemplify the mature or ‘high’ baroque style. In Catholic Flanders the style is represented by Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck, and in Spain by Diego Velázquez and José Ribera. In Protestant Holland, where patronage had moved from the church to the middle classes, it is represented by Rembrandt, Jan Vermeer, and Frans Hals.

Sculpture
The master of baroque sculpture was Bernini, whose Ecstasy of St Theresa is a fine example of overt emotionalism. Other baroque sculptors were Pierre Puget and Antoine Coysevox, both French.

Music
In music, the baroque can be traced to the Camerata, a society of poets and musicians who revived elements of Greek drama and developed the opera form in Florence; Claudio Monteverdi and Giovanni Gabrieli were important figures in early baroque music, introducing exclamatory and polychoral effects. The sonata, suite, and concerto grosso emerged during the period; the vocal forms of opera, oratorio, and cantata were also developed. Baroque composers include Girolamo Frescobaldi and Antonio Vivaldi in Italy, Johann Pachelbel and Johann Sebastian Bach in Germany, and George Frideric Handel in England.