The Baroque in Rome

The Baroque is an artistic movement that extends from the mid-sixteenth century, until the mid-eighteenth that marked European art. Its origin is in Italy, where there are many beautiful expressions, especially in Rome. This style touches all areas, such as architecture, painting or music. This period was called “baroque” after the end of the 18th century.
It is characterized by the expression of movement, decorative overload, dramatic effects, exuberance or contrast. He is sometimes pompous.
Its object was to touch the spectator by awakening sensations in him, in opposition in particular to the austerity and sobriety of classicism.
The church contributed to the creation and dissemination of baroque works, wanting to distinguish itself after the Protestant Reformation of the Protestant church by seeking emotion among the faithful.
In architecture, is often seen complexity and trompe l’oeil, creating an assumed exuberance. In painting the baroque often expresses a powerful realism, sometimes exaggerated to the theatrical.

Among the great artists who particularly marked the baroque were Caravaggio with his chiaroscuro and animated characters, Bernini with his “living” marbles, or Borromini and Cortona among the Italians, but also Rubens from Flanders, Velázquez born in Seville, etc.

Pages culture and Baroque in Rome

Pages monuments and Baroque

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