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The Baroque Period: An Introduction


 
      The term Baroque is a controversial one and is said to originate from the Portuguese word for a ‘misshapen pearl’, and until the 19th century it mainly indicated something absurd or grotesque. In the modern day, it is the dominant style that belongs between the Mannerism and Rococo periods styles. The style originated in Rome around the late 16th century, and dominates the 17th century. It was strongly associated with the Roman Catholic church although it can be said that it is not explicitly connected with just religious art but also with works that do not have any sort of emotional portrayal (an example being certain Dutch still-life paintings). 
       
      The full Baroque aesthetic was led by Italy and came about during the Early Baroque (c. 1600-1625) and culminated in the High Baroque (c. 1625-1675). After this came the restrained Baroque aesthetic (c. 1675-1725). The Baroque period reached its conclusion with the Rococo style (c. 1725-1800), in which the violent, overtly dramatic aesthetics of Baroque were subdued and transformed into a quiet, playful and serene dynamism. The Late Baroque and Rococo style were led by the French. 


Aeneas' Flight from Troy by Federico Barocci


The Baroque period can be characterized as having intricate, extravagant and ornate style, these aspects significantly present in architecture, music and art. It is often associated with the qualities of grandeur, sensuality, richness, drama, movement, tension and emotional exuberance. The Baroque style’s essence is a continuation and transformation of the Renaissance style. This was a period of significant transformations in European society. It was the time that foundations were laid for the modern scientific concept of the world. Man’s perspective of the world and of man himself was transforming. In many ways the styles associated with it have many ‘faces’, all related by the experiences they intend to express rather than by any explicit formal structural aspects.  The term 'Baroque' is also used in the modern day to describe art, crafts or design that is exceptionally ornamental and that displays complexity of line. 

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