Baroque
The Baroque period occurred in the late 1500s through the early 1700s,
- Baroque Architecture – The Decorative Style of 17th-Century ArchitectureArchitecture from the 17th-century was defined by a dramatically theatrical and ornately decorative style which can be traced back to Rome in the early Baroque period. It peaked in the High Baroque period with Italian Baroque architecture spreading across Europe, segmenting into unique interpretations of the style in many countries
- Baroque Art: Sotheby'sFlourishing throughout Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, the Baroque style of art and architecture inspired wonderment through the use of ornate detail, tonal intensity, and an overarching sense of grandeur.
- Baroque Art – The Key Artists and Paintings of the Baroque PeriodThe Baroque period developed after the Renaissance and Mannerism art periods. It brought with it new perspectives about life, art, religion, and culture. The Baroque style moved away from the severe elements depicted by the Protestant style.
- Famous Baroque Paintings – Exploring the Best Baroque Period ArtworksBefore the Rococo and Neoclassical styles, there was Baroque period artwork, which came after Renaissance and Mannerist art. It initially started to flourish in Europe between the beginning of the 17th century and the middle of the 18th century.
Research & Reference
- Baroque Art: Credo ReferenceA Credo Reference landing page on Baroque art. This page includes links to reference works, journal articles, and a mind map.
Understanding Art: Baroque
In this three-part series, art critic Waldemar Januszczak takes us on a journey to explore the Baroque tradition in many of its key locations. Starting in Italy and following the spread of the wildfire across Europe and beyond, Januszczak shows us best examples of Baroque to be found, and tells the best stories behind those works. Part One begins at St.Peter’s in Rome and details the birth of the Baroque tradition as it burst forth in Italy. Part Two follows Baroque to its dark heart in Spain, focusing on the route of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, and featuring star painters Velasquez, Caravaggio, and Zurburan. We then follow on through Belgium and Holland to discover such celebrities as Rubens and Vermeer. Part Three explores the English Baroque tradition which finds its climax through Christopher Wren and the iconic St. Paul’s Cathedral. Winner Best Arts Documentary, RTS Awards 2010.
Perspectives
A History of European Art
Forty-eight lectures of thirty minutes each by William Kloss, independent art historian with Smithsonian Associates, the Smithsonian Institution.
Baroques
From Rome to St. Petersburg, Portugal to Brazil, the Baroque was the first art movement to span not only countries but distant continents. This stunningly illustrated book takes us on a breathtaking pilgrimage through its endless variations over some two hundred years, beginning in the early seventeenth century. Readers are treated to such wonders as Bernini's intensely powerful sculptures and his immense colonnade on St. Peter's Square, imposing palace facades, painted ceilings, crucifixes, angels, demons, piazzas, villas, gardens, and more. Though once viewed in Europe as decadent compared to Renaissance art, the Baroque is seen today as the ultimate manifestation of a style that expanded the bounds of reality and engendered a "culture of visualization," prefiguring the modern age. Combining Ferrante Ferranti's magnificent color photographs, many never before published, with Giovanni Careri's absorbing prose account of the Baroque in chapters arranged by theme, Baroques marks the first time the topic has been treated so comprehensively, going well beyond Italy as far as colonial Latin America. The materials used in Baroque churches, palaces, gardens, and cities were meant to dazzle-but they did much more. Whether marble, stucco, or gilded bronze, each in its own way captures the fleeting interplay between the overt splendor of fireworks and the secret, conceptual complexity of allegory. The Baroque is an art of passions and ecstasies, but it is also a political art: it conveys an image of power charged with new energy, an image that inspired awe, fear, and respect. Above all, it is a total art: painting, sculpture, and architecture come together in Baroques as a whole that invites the reader into its transforming universe.
Museum Masterpieces the Louvre
This series of lectures introduces the greatest of universal museums. Its aim is not comprehensive. The focus is narrowed to the Department of Paintings, which is responsible for European paintings from the Middle Ages until the mid-19th century. These works of art form an encyclopedic summary of the achievements of painters that can be called the single most important such collection in the world. The aim of these lectures is to both prepare new viewers for a visit and to be a "study aid" for those who have been and gone before. Critic and historian Richard Brettell begins with an overview of the Louvre's colorful history as royal palace, art academy, and national showcase. The lectures explore some of the most beautiful and renowned examples of European painting, including masterworks by Raphael, Caravaggio, Leonardo da Vinci, Watteau, Rubens and Vermeer.