Baroque Art and Architecture

I

Introduction

Baroque Art and Architecture, the style dominating the art and architecture of Europe and certain European colonies in the Americas throughout the 1600s, and in some places, until 1750. A number of its characteristics persisted into the first half of the 18th century, although that period was dominated by the succeeding Rococo style. Manifestations of Baroque style appear in the art of virtually every country in Europe, with other important centres in the Spanish and Portuguese settlements in the Americas and in other outposts. The term Baroque also defines periods in literature and music.

II

Definition

The origins of the word baroque are not clear. It may have been derived from the Portuguese barocco or the Spanish barueco, indicating an irregularly shaped pearl. The word itself does not accurately define or even approximate to the meaning of the style to which it refers. However, by the end of the 18th century the term “baroque”, carrying associations with the grotesque, had entered the vocabulary of art criticism as a label for a style of 17th-century art that many later critics regularly dismissed as too bizarre or strange to merit serious study. Writers such as the 19th-century Swiss cultural historian Jakob Burckhardt considered this style the decadent end of the Renaissance; his student Heinrich Wölfflin, in Principles of Art History (1915; translated 1932), first pointed out the fundamental differences between the art of the 16th and 17th centuries, stating that “baroque is neither a rise nor a decline from classic, but a totally different art”.

Baroque art crosses vast regional divides. It may seem confusing, for example, to label two such different artists as Rembrandt and Gianlorenzo Bernini as Baroque; yet despite differences, their work has certain Baroque elements in common, such as a preoccupation with the dramatic potential of light.

A

Historical Background

The development of Baroque style, in all its various forms, must be seen in its historical context. The 17th century could be called the first modern age. Human awareness of the world was continuously expanding. Many scientific discoveries influenced art; Galileo's investigations of the planets, for example, account for astronomical accuracy in many paintings of the time. By 1530, the Polish astronomer Copernicus had committed to writing his belief that the planets did not revolve around the Earth; his work was published in 1543, but only fully accepted after 1600. The realization that the Earth was not at the centre of the universe coincided in art with the rise of pure landscape painting devoid of human figures. The active trade and colonization on the part of many European nations accounted for numerous portrayals of places and peoples that were exotic to Europeans.

Religion determined many aspects of Baroque art. The Roman Catholic Church was a highly influential patron, and the Counter Reformation, launched to combat the spread of Protestantism, enlisted emotional, realistic, and dramatic art as a means of propagating the faith. The simplicity sought by Protestantism in countries such as the Netherlands and northern Germany likewise explains the severity of the architectural styles in those areas.

Political situations also influenced art. The absolute monarchies of France and Spain led to the creation of works that, in their size and splendour, reflected the majesty of Louis XIV and Philip IV.

B

Characteristics of Baroque Style

Among the general characteristics of Baroque art is a sense of movement, energy, and tension. Strong contrasts of light and shadow enhance the dramatic effects of many paintings and sculptures. Even Baroque buildings, with their undulating walls and decorative surface elements, imply motion. Intense spirituality is often present, particularly in scenes of ecstasies, martyrdoms, or miraculous apparitions associated with Roman Catholic countries such as Italy, Spain, and France. Infinite space is often suggested in Baroque paintings or sculptures; throughout the Renaissance and into the Baroque period, painters sought a grander sense of space and truer depiction of perspective in their works. Realism is another integral feature of Baroque art; the figures in paintings are not generalized types but individuals with their own personalities. Artists of this time were concerned with the inner workings of the mind and attempted to portray the passions of the soul through the facial features of their subjects. The intensity and immediacy, individualism, and detail of Baroque art—observed in such things as the convincing rendering of cloth and skin textures—make it one of the most compelling styles of Western art.