Baroque epoch - style features, artists and important works

At a time when the world was characterized by opulent shine and splendid beauty, the baroque as a style with unique features. The epoch of the baroque , characterized by magnificent architecture and artistic church buildings , still fascinates with its rich cultural heritage .

Let us immerse yourself in the world of baroque, music, literature and the life of people in this magnificent time.

Baroque splendor - an era full of shine and opulence

Life in the baroque was characterized by an interaction of architectural masterpiece and opulent lifestyle.

The magnificent castles and churches of the Baroque mirrors n opposite the shine of this era, in which art and life merged with each other. In Italy the baroque style (so -called Italian baroque ), inspired by dramatic representations and lively colors.

In the art of the baroque, the people of that time were expressed for their emotions and longings, while wars and political upheavals shook the world around them. The architecture in the baroque style combined aesthetics with function, with castles such as versailles becoming symbols of absolutistic power.

These magnificent buildings still tell of a time when the splendor and splendor determined life.

The baroque style: characteristics, influences and legacy for art history

In art history, the baroque style stands for an era full of passion and drama. The characteristics of this style are characterized by opulent shapes, dynamic movements and living colors.

Inspired by the counter -reformation and absolutism mirrors T of the Baroque, a time of change and self -discovery. Artists such as Caravaggio , Bernini and Rubens shaped this era with their unique works, which are still admirable today.

Her works of art tell stories of power, faith and emotions in a way that touches the viewer deeply. The baroque style revolutionized the art world and left a lasting influence on the following generations of artists.

The baroque as Art Movement - a summary

The Baroque period (17th-18th centuries) was an epoch of the arts that started in Italy in the 17th century and experienced its heyday until the 18th century. This era included various art forms such as painting , sculpture , architecture , decorative art and music .

The baroque style was mainly adapted by countries that were involved in religious conflicts; The artistic works were created on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church and were characterized by emotional depth.

Annibale Carracci (Carracci family), Caravaggio and Gian Lorenzo Bernini were one of the most important representatives of this time . An outstanding example of baroque art is Versailles Castle .

In music it is generally assumed that the baroque period lasted between 1600 and 1750; During this time of baroque music , important new genres such as operas , oratorios , cantatas as well as sonatas and concerts - while composers such as Claudio Monteverdi , Johann Sebastian Bach or Georg Friedrich Händel flourished. "

The origin of the term

The origin of the term baroque is probably in the Italian word "Barocco" , which was used in the Middle Ages of philosophers to describe an obstacle in the logical structure. Later, the meaning developed into a twisted idea or a complex thought process.

An alternative source could be the Portuguese word “Barroco” (Spanish: Barrueco ), which describes an irregular or incorrectly shaped pearl and is still known .

In art criticism , the term baroque was used to present everything that deviates from established rules and proportions - be it due to irregularity, bizarreity or other deviations. This biased view of art styles of the 17th century was retained until the end of the 19th century and regarded as strange, grotesque and overdecorated.

It was only through Heinrich Wölfflin's pioneering study "Renaissance and Baroque" (1888) that the term "Baroque" its place as a name for a specific style instead of a swear word and enabled a systematic representation of the characteristics of the baroque.

Historical context of the Baroque era

Three important cultural and intellectual currents shaped baroque art and music significantly.

Counter -Reformation and the Council of Trento

First of all, this was the emergence of the counter -reformation and its expansion, both territorially and intellectually. The refined courtly style of mannerism was increasingly perceived as inadequate towards the end of the 16th century, especially for religious art.

In response to the Reformation movement, the Roman Catholic Church took a propaganda attitude Council of Trento art served to strengthen the belief in the Church. This led to the introduction of a conscious artistic program with works that exercised a strong emotional and sensual stimulus for believers.

The resulting baroque style paradoxically united sensuality with spirituality; Naturalistic representations made religious images more understandable for the average believer, while dramatic and illusionary effects were used to promote piety and to give an impression of divine splendor.

Baroque ceiling paintings dissolved into living scenarios, which kidnapped the viewer into endless perspectives and devoted his senses to heavenly matters.

Absolutism and strengthening of the monarchies

Another development was the strengthening of absolutist monarchies , accompanied by the creation of an influential and mighty middle class, which now became active artificial patrons Magnificent baroque palaces were built to emphasize the power and size of the centralized state - most clearly visible in the royal palace and the gardens of Versailles.

At the same time, an art market for the middle class with a penchant for realism in works such as those of the brothers Le Nain and Georges de la Tour in France and various schools in Dutch painting of the 17th century (see Rembrandt van Rijn or Jan Vermeer van Delft ).

Newly discovered interest in nature and scientific progress

The third tendency showed a newly awakened interest in nature and a general expansion of the intellectual horizon of people, promoted through progress in science and discoveries of the world.

At the same time, these led to a new consciousness for the nullity of humans (in particular favored by the Copernican shift of the earth from the center of the universe) as well as for the unexpected complexity and infinity of the natural world.

The development of landscape painting in the 17th century, in which people are often presented as tiny figures in a wide natural environment, illustrates this changed understanding of human existence.

Socio -economic and cultural framework conditions in the baroque

The Thirty Years' War and the Turkish Wars led to devastation and major population loss in Hungary. The plague epidemics of 1679 and 1713 further worsened this situation. In order to re -populate the areas that were relieved of the Turks, the bureaucracy initiated resettlement projects for Germans and other immigrants in the south of the country.

Mercantilism and government interventions in the trade

Protestants had been sent into exile during religious conflicts, but in the 18th century they were specifically spent in sub -populated parts of the empire. From the 1660s, mercantilistic ideas the industrial and commercial events, supported by the government.

The location of the farmers was difficult ; Measures for protection under Leopold I. and Charles VI. had little effect. Despite the establishment of certain “model industries”, mainly textile factories, their success remained limited. The absolutist state intervened strongly in trade organizations : guilds were suppressed or excluded by new manufacturers.

The trade was promoted, but brought the state little profits. Industrial and trading companies were partly managed directly by the state, but mostly by privileged groups or private individuals. The first oriental commercial company (1667), the second oriental trading company (1719) and the East end company (1722) are worth mentioning.

Chronically overloaded state finances

Mediterranean trade has also been intensified. Despite promising colonial projects in India, these were discontinued in the middle of the 18th century for political reasons. Under Charles VI. Numerous new roads were planned and built. The state suffered from constant lack of money due to persistent wars and great economic investments that overloaded the state finances. Initially, the state was financed by rich bankers such as Samuel Oppenheimer and later Samson Wertheimer.

Later he tried to establish state -controlled bank companies; While the Banco del Giro from 1703 in Vienna quickly failed, the Vienna Stadtbanco from 1705 was able to assert itself; After a short time, however, the universal balance of 1715 was also liquidated.

Catholic Church controls the education system

After the victory of the counter-reformation, the Roman Catholic Church largely took control of education. The high schools, especially those of the orders such as the Jesuits and Benedictines , set a very high standard.

In 1677 a new university was founded in Innsbruck, whose theological faculty was soon known. Historical writing experienced a heyday, especially through works such as those of the two Benedictine brothers Bernard and Hieronymus Pez, Abbot Gottfried Bessel of Göttweig and the official historian of Leopold I, Franz Wagner from the Jesuit Order.

The Austrian Jesuits were known for their scientific and geographical research, especially for their explorations in China.

Achievements of the baroque for poetry, music and theater

The achievements of the baroque seal include Wolf Helmhart von Hohberg , whose works offer fascinating insights into the life of the nobility, as well as Katharina von Greiffenberg , a Protestant, whose extremely spiritual poems reflected on the pressure of the counter -reformation.

The baroque theater was characterized by magnificent decorations and innovative stage technology. The pieces produced ranged from elaborate Italian operas to the blunt humor of popular pieces.

The music reached a particularly high level thanks to three emperors who themselves worked as composers (Ferdinand III., Leopold I. and Joseph I.). Charles VI. was also a talented musician and committed Johann Joseph Fux from Eastern Styria as an important composer and teacher for his services.

The magnificent architecture is the outstanding feature of the Austrian baroque culture. In the beginning, Italian architects were particularly dominant, but soon local talents emerged.

One of the most important were Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach , known for works such as the first plan of Schönbrunn Castle and the Karlskirche in Vienna as well as the college church in Salzburg , and his son Josef Emanuel Fischer von Erlach, who, among other things, designed the court library in Vienna.

They were challenged by Jakob Prandtauer with monasteries in Herzogenburg and Melk as well as in particular by Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt with castles such as Schwarzenberg and Belvedere in Vienna, the Peterskirche and the Göttweig monastery.

Among the local sculptors, Georg Raphael Donner protruded both in the rank and in the quality of his work. Fresk painting was largely shaped by artists such as Johann Michael Rottmayr from Salzburg, Daniel Gran from Vienna and Paul Troger from the Tyrolean Puster Valley.

Stylish features of the Baroque - Epoch of Diversity in Europe

The arts in the baroque are characterized by an extraordinary variety, since currents of naturalism and classicism exist side by side and merged with the characteristic baroque style.

Annibale Carracci and Caravaggio , two Italian painters, broke in the 1590s with mannerism and thus contributed to the introduction of baroque style, painting in the classicist or realistic style.

Caravaggio is particularly known for the popularization of tenebrism , the use of extreme light-dark contrasts. Artemisia Gentileschi used this technique very effectively in its historical paintings - an unusual topic among contemporary artists.

In the 1620s, a specificly baroque painting style developed in Rome, especially by monumental ceiling paintings by Pietro da Cortona , Guido Reni , IL Guercino and Domenichino and many other artists.

Gian Lorenzo Bernini was one of the most important sculptors and architects of that time; Among other things, he designed the canopy over the altar in St. Peter's Basilica and the huge colonnade in front of it.

The baroque architecture of Bernini together with Carlo Maderno , Francesco Borromini and Guarino Guarini attached great importance to solidity, monumental, movement, dramatic spatial and light sequences as well as rich interior decorations with contrasting surface textures, lively colors and luxurious materials to emphasize the physique of the structure and sensual joy.

In France, the baroque influences were mitigated by pronounced classicist tendencies, which is shown in the serious, logical and orderly paintings by Nicolas Poussin as well as the somewhat more magnificent works by Charles Le Brun and the portraitists Hyacinthe Rigaud and Nicolas de Largillière .

French architecture, on the other hand, is less in a baroque style due to its subtlety, elegance and reluctance. The reserved architecture of Jules Hardouin-Mansart shows that the baroque impulse in France was rather subdued and classicist.

In the strictly Roman-Catholic Spain, on the other hand, the Baroque was adopted with enthusiasm, especially in architecture. The most important Spanish master builder José Benito Churriguera clearly showed Spain's interest in surface structures and lush details.

His style, known as “Chrigueresque” , found many followers, whose adaptation also spread in the Spanish colonies of America. Diego Velázquez and other Spanish painters of the 17th century followed a dark but powerful naturalistic approach that had little similarities with the mainstream of baroque painting.

The Baroque had only a limited distribution in Northern Europe, especially in today's Belgium. The most outstanding master of this Spanish ruled, mostly Roman Catholic region was the painter Peter Paul Rubens , whose dynamic diagonal arrangements and lush figures represent the highlight of baroque painting.

The elegant portraits of Anthony van Dyck and the strong figurative works by Jacob Jordaens were based on Rubens' style. In the Netherlands, the art was strongly shaped by the realistic taste of its prevailing bourgeois patrons, whereby both the numerous genre and landscape painters of the country as well as important masters such as Rembrandt and Fran's neck left important aspects of the baroque.

Nevertheless, the baroque showed a remarkable influence in England , especially in churches and palaces designed by Sir Christopher Wren or Sir John Vanbrugh .

The last heyday of the baroque took place mainly in the largely Roman Catholic southern Germany and Austria , where local architects left Italian building styles from the 1720s.

In artistic churches, monasteries and palaces, JB Fischer von Erlach , Balthasar Neumann , JL von Hildebrandt , Dominikus Zimmermann as well as Cosmas Damian Asam and Egid Quirin Asam with a richly fine type of stucco decoration combined with painted surfaces, subtle illusionist effects.

The baroque architecture: magnificent castles, churches and gardens

In the middle of the baroque splendor, majestic castles rise, the facades of which are shaped by opulent decorations.

The architecture of the baroque testifies to a striving for overwhelming beauty and a terrific effect. Churches , as spiritual centers, were designed for impressive buildings with lush stucco work and magnificent domes. Gardens were created as a harmonious expansion of architecture, with geometric shapes and artistically arranged beds.

The baroque architectural style found its spread not only in Italy , the country of origin of the baroque, but also throughout Europe. Split buildings such as the Versailles Castle stand as symbols of this magnificent era, which is a highlight of artistic creativity.

The baroque architecture embodies a time of exuberance and devotion to the beautiful, embedded in political turmoil and social upheavals.

The baroque architectural style - origins and characteristics

The baroque architecture is a architectural style that was created in Italy in the late 16th century and had existed in regions such as Germany and the colonial South America until the 18th century.

The roots lie in the counter -reformation when the Catholic Church performed strongly emotional attraction to the believers by art and architecture.

Especially complex floor plan forms, based on the oval, as well as dynamic contrasts and space overlays were preferred to emphasize movement and sensuality. Other characteristic characteristics are grandeur, drama and contrasts (especially in lighting), curved shapes as well as a wide range of surface treatments with richly decorated elements and gilded statues.

Baroque architects rely on lively colors and illusionary ceiling paintings. In Italy, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Carlo Maderno, Francesco Borromini and Guarino Guarini were one of the important representatives of this era; While classic elements made this direction more subtle in France.

In Central Europe, the Baroque later arrived but, for example, flourished in the work of the Austrian architect Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach.

Great Britain was also shaped by the influence of the baroque - especially by Christopher Wren's works. The late baroque is often referred to as Rococo or Churrigueresque style .

Music in the baroque: composers like Bach, Vivaldi and Handel shaped the era

In the sounds of the Baroque, a world of passion and elegance is revealed. Bach , Vivaldi and Handel , master of their time, weighed musical masterpieces that still touch their hearts.

Her compositions mirrors n the magnificent opulence of the Baroque, with virtuoso melodies and profound harmonies. The music in the baroque was more than just entertainment - it was an expression of feeling and beauty that touched the souls of the audience.

The works of these ingenious composers became a language of emotions and thoughts that combined people around the world for centuries.

Characteristics of baroque music and important representatives

The baroque music , a music direction that dominated from around 1600 to around 1750, is known for its magnificent, dramatic and energetic spirit and its stylistic diversity.

An example of this are Claudio Monteverdi's Madrigale . One of the most important turning points in music history occurred in Italy at the beginning of the 17th century.

The style of antico gave way to a new interest in the expression in expression - developed for secular use. As a result, differences between spiritual and secular music as well as between singing and instrumental languages ​​were more clearly defined and national peculiarities emphasized more clearly.

The introduction of opera , oratorio and cantata marked an important turning point in music history . These new forms of singing made it possible for the composers to express complex stories and emotions through music.

Claudio Monteverdi is seen as a pioneer of this “new music” , followed by other outstanding Italian composers such as Alessandro Scarlatti and Giovanni Pergolesi . In Italy, baroque music bloomed with masters like Arcangelo Corelli , Antonio Vivaldi and Giuseppe Tartini .

Her works were characterized by their virtuosity and passion. In France, Jean-Baptiste Lully as a leading opera composer and Jean Philippe Rameau in French baroque music.

In England, the Stuart mask games to the development of vocal music, with Georg Friedrich Handel playing a central role in Germany. His musical genius brought him international recognition.

Johann Sebastian Bach, on the other hand, concentrated on baroque church music and created imperishable works for choir and organ music. Germany was also home to other renowned baroque composers such as Heinrich Schütz , Dietrich Buxtehude and Georg Philipp Telemann. Their influence was significantly shaped by the musical landscape of the 17th and 18th centuries.

A detailed examination of baroque music reveals its variety of styles, techniques and expression.

Theater and stage entertainment

The connection of two artistic innovations - the development of perspective in the 15th century and the premiere of the first opera in 1597 - laid the foundation for the baroque theater , which was formative until the 19th century. During this time, all countries were influenced in a similar way, with Italy being considered the most important source of inspiration.

Instead of the classically shaped drama of the 16th century, a variety of entertainment forms such as intermezzi , ballet , mask performances and Opera Buffa occurred. The introduction of new techniques to present spectacular visual effects led to the fact that increasingly sophisticated machines were installed in theater buildings. The result was a dominant spectacle over all other aspects of the performance design.

The baroque architectural style, which originated in Italy and spread all over Europe, significantly shaped the theater building between around 1650 and 1790. The refinement of the proscenium stage and the horseshoe-shaped auditorium in the Renaissance style were characteristic.

Private court theater

New innovations were introduced in private court theaters , where up to five flat balconies were arranged vertically. For the first time there was an underground orchestra trench in front of the stage and the stage floor was deepened to create space for backdrops, equipment and dance.

With the advent of operas and ballets, more sophisticated trerms Terms & Conditions are required. Famous names of this time are Giacomo Torelli from Italy and the Bibiena family with their unique productions. The strict etiquette demanded perspective lines on the stage from the perspective of the royal lodge place.

The construction of theaters was controlled by financial support from the nobility, which led to a rigid architectural formalism. The Auditories mirrors Ten a social stratification-a good example is the French court theater in Versailles (1769) by architect Jacques -ange Gabriel.

The stages were mechanized according to the style of the Bibiena family with pull-up systems for effects such as flying decorations. Despite their size, many operas were premiered in these expensive court theaters and they also played an important role in the development of the classic ballet.

Public opera houses

In the 18th century there were two types of public theaters . One of them was a logical continuation of the former private court theater and corresponded to the demanding, urban, aristocratic demand for theater as entertainment.

The Teatro Alla Scala (1776–78) in Milan is an apt example of the numerous theaters that the nobility built in the capitals of Europe in the 18th century. Public theaters like the Scala differed from the size of the auditorium and the stage from the private court theaters.

While the Versailles auditorium offered fewer than 700 seats, the Scala had more than 2,000 seats. At that time, the opera was the preferred shape of the entertainment, especially in Italy with an associated ballet.

The restoration play house

The restoration theater in England differed from other forms of public theater. The horseshoe -shaped spectator with a deep stage and orchestra pit was popular throughout Western Europe and shaped the style of opera houses.

The actors played elaborately painted backdrop behind the proscenium arch. In contrast to the baroque theater, the restoration playhouse had a deep pre -stage that protruded over the proscenium and where the majority of the action took place.

The English with their Shakespeare tradition appreciated the direct contact between actors and the audience from the Elisabethan era, which is why they also retained it in the restoration theater.

On both sides of the pre -stage there were doors for the actors and additional spectator lodges in baroque style stacked on top of each other.

Baroque literature - characteristics, authors and works

The baroque literature is an important part of an important European movement that is known both literary and artistically as a baroque.

Since around 1800, literature production in Europe has been referred to as baroque literature, while in France it is more assigned to classicism, although similar stylistic devices are used. Baroque elements can also be found in the European literature of the 17th century.

So there is a distinction between the epochal concept and a stylistic concept for special features such as metaphors , religious and mythological allegories . Because of its "artificiality" , the baroque literature often evades direct empathy; Due to her lack of "naturalness", it was not estimated by critics of the early and middle educational period.

The literature of the baroque showed itself in various forms, from the euphism of the English poets about the Preciosité in France, Marinism in Italy, the first and second Silesian school in Germany to conceptism and culturalism in Spain.

The baroque authors include:

• in Spain : Luis de Góngora, Francisco de Quevedo, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, Bernardo de Balbuena and Miguel Hidalgo;
• in Catalonia : Francesc Fontanella, Francesc Vicenç Garcia, Josep Romaguera;
• in Portugal : António Vieira, Gregório de Matos, Francisco Rodrigues Lobo;
• In England : The metaphysical poets John Donne, George Herbert, Andrew Marvell, Henry Vaughan and
• In Germany : Andreas Gryphius and Angelus Silesius.

In Spain, the era of the baroque falls together with the golden age. The topics of love , honor, religiosity (in the middle of the ongoing counter -reformation) and satire dominate. In poetry, controversies between conceptism and culturalismo alternate as well as the discovery of new stanzas in addition to the continuation of the Renaissance sonnet.

The novel experiences a time of maximum splendor with works by Cervantes and a variety of subgenres (whereby the mischievous novel in particular).

In the theater, comedies are in the foreground as well as “car sacramental” or dramatization of biblical passages. Pedro Calderón de la Barca mixes the rules of comedy with serious topics and continues to develop the Hispanic tragedy theater.

Origins and constitutional elements

Originally, the term baroque was used exclusively for the visual arts . It was not until the 1820s that they started to speak of the literary baroque, although his heyday was in the 16th and 17th centuries. This suggests that this current was not only influenced by art in terms of its plastic forms, but was also relevant to literary.

It is important to recognize that there is a literary baroque and to consider an ideological movement Some even went so far that the baroque stood against the Renaissance and represented a confrontational movement - but this is wrong.

The baroque brought the techniques renewal and styles. Especially in Europe, especially in Spain, the counter -reformation had a major impact on these currents; Italian influences from the Renaissance have been assimilated and at the same time shaped Spanish - with techniques and styles being adapted even more to the Spanish tradition.

Poetry in the baroque

The baroque poets of the 17th century mixed traditional stanzas with new and cultivated forms such as the trio , the quartet , the sonnet and the Redondilla .

They used numerous rhetorical figures and strived for an artistic formal design. This meant no departure from the classicism of the Renaissance, but rather an intensification of the stylistic means in search of ornamental complexity and an exaggeration of sensual means to formal nesting.

The Spanish literary baroque marks the 17th century. During the 17th century, however, topics that were already present in the Renaissance occurred in the baroque movement, in particular the negative aspects: the transience of life, the speed with which time evaporates, the disappearance of joys, the complexity of the world around humans, etc.

The literature of the 16th century was characterized by a calm and balanced style; The baroque of the 17th century brought this calm to falter and various forces got into conflict.

Final words

In the middle of the baroque exuberance, a world of incomparable beauty and elegance is revealed. The magnificent castles and opulent churches mirrors n resembled the essence of this era, shaped by lush architecture and lively colors. If you enter the halls of these buildings, it feels like being immersed in another time when life itself art .

Every stone tells stories of past times, about war and peace, of love and passion. The baroque architecture of Italy and France still inspires generations of artists and architects worldwide today. A visit to Versailles makes the splendor of the baroque resound in an incomparable way.

In the literature of the baroque, complex metaphors and allegories as well as sophisticated rhetoric often dominated. The music of this time was characterized by opulent compositions with many decorations and contrasts.

Overall, the Baroque can be described as an artistic era that is known for its opulence, drama and splendor and had a huge impact on European art and cultural history.

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Joachim Rodriguez y Romero

Owner and managing director of Kunstplaza . Publicist, editor and passionate blogger in the field of art, design and creativity since 2011. Successful conclusion in web design as part of a university degree (2008). Further development of creativity techniques through courses in free drawing, expression painting and theatre/acting. Profound knowledge of the art market through many years of journalistic research and numerous collaborations with actors/institutions from art and culture.

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