BAROQUE: HISTORY, CHARACTERISTICS AND ART (ARCHITECTURE, PAINTING) - ART - 2025

The Baroque was an artistic and thought movement of the seventeenth century that symbolized a forceful change within the forms of human knowledge. It implied a distancing from Renaissance ideas and took up the religious nuance of the medieval years; This he did from his own perspective, as he added elements that anticipated the arrival of Modernity.

Understanding the Baroque as the episteme of an entire era has been complex for researchers and historians, because throughout history this concept has been full of inaccuracies and misunderstandings. However, the bibliography on the Baroque grows over the years, which makes it possible to eradicate old mistaken approaches.

The Basilica of San Pedro is one of the representative works of the Baroque. Source: pixabay.com

The Baroque was such a massive movement that it extended its domains beyond the plastic arts, since its precepts and ideals can be found present in the literary and musical domain; for example, Tasso is considered by some to be a Baroque poet and Bach is claimed to be the most representative and influential character in Baroque music.

Similarly, one of the aspects that characterized the Baroque as an artistic movement was that it was the result and the expression of a deep spiritual and moral crisis that was triggered by the decomposition of Renaissance values.

That is to say, already in the seventeenth century the worldview of Renaissance man had irremediably spread, so the Baroque meant a search to find again that synthesis and that previously lost worldview, but through exaggeration and a deep religious fervor. that gave a glimpse of the existential emptiness of an entire era.

Despite the break with the Renaissance ideals and the lack of totality, the Baroque was a form of special knowledge insofar as it allowed the introduction of a portentous novelty; This movement symbolized a growth, a propagation of a series of artistic forces that practiced abundance, the excessive and the enormous.

The importance of the Baroque was of such magnitude that in our days there are still poets, painters and other artists who try to copy and capture this style that completely marked not only a certain time, but also several generations belonging to later periods that were looking for manifestations very different artistic ones.

Origin and history

Etymology

On the etymology of the word "baroque" countless theories have arisen: some affirm that it comes from the surname of the painter Federico Barocci , although the hypothesis is also defended that this definition comes from the word barocchio, which in Italian refers to fraud and usury.

One of the most common hypotheses was the one that affirmed that "baroque" came from the word baroco, which was used within the scholastic logic to designate a syllogism whose major premise is affirmative and universal, while the minor one is particular and negative.

This means that, within this hypothesis, the word "baroque" refers to the universal and the good (impregnated with a strong religious nuance). This perspective was defended by notable scholars such as Carlo Calcaterra and Benedetto Croce.

Likewise, the word baroque acquired a pejorative term coined by the humanist sectors belonging to the Renaissance, who despised the scholastic logic, arguing that their reasoning was absurd and ridiculous. Therefore, an argument in baroco meant a false or devious idea.

Later this expression was transferred to the world of the arts to designate a new style that, in the eyes of conventional humanists, was ridiculous and false.

The irregular pearl

The previous hypothesis - although well defended and argued - could only be applied to some parts of Italy, since it did not fit with other European regions such as France, Spain and Portugal; hence it was discovered that the term "baroque" came rather from Portuguese, the language in which it was used to designate an irregularly shaped pearl.

It is believed that "baroque" comes from the Latin verruca, a term used to define a small elevation of a piece of land. It was also associated with precious stones. Likewise, it is known that during their maritime expansion, the Portuguese engaged in the pearl trade throughout the Indian Ocean.

During the extraction of pearls near Barokia, in the city of Guzarate, the Portuguese realized that specimens of irregular shape were abundant; consequently, a pejorative term was coined to these pearls from this place.

In this way, the term "baroque", already existing in Portuguese, was used to designate these irregular and impure pearls.

Introduction of the term in the arts

Towards the middle of the 18th century the term "baroque" began to be used by the great thinkers of the Enlightenment.

For example, Rousseau introduced the term in his Lettre sur la musique francaise, where he called Italian music with this name. For his part, Charles de Brosses used the term "baroque" to designate some gold and silver objects, such as boxes or chests.

When the term was transferred to architecture, it was used to refer to those forms that were extravagant and ridiculous. Therefore, Baroque architecture was regarded as a valueless art, being condemned for its separation from the classical ideal of regularity and balance.

This definition, although full of a strongly derogatory character, allowed to open the way to the notion of "baroque" to refer to an entire artistic style that developed mainly in the seventeenth century.

Starting in the 19th century, the Baroque was rescued for its misunderstood beauty and for the importance it implied for the different periods of Western art.

Baroque Characteristics

In 1915, the Swiss-born art critic Enrique Wölfflin published a text known as Fundamental principles of the history of art, which is fundamental to understanding the Baroque as an artistic and philosophical movement.

In this work, Wölfflin argued that the Baroque was born as a style developed from the classicism of the Renaissance; however, he distanced himself from it to follow his own current. In this way, as a result of the transformations between one artistic movement and the other, the following characteristics can be established:

Shift from linear to pictorial

Source: Halley Pacheco de Oliveira

At the time of the Renaissance the linear character reigned in Fine Arts, which vigorously delimited objects both on a pictorial, sculptural or architectural plane. This gave this stylistic movement a tactile quality within the contours and planes.

On the contrary, the Baroque was characterized by despising lines as a delimiting element of objects.

Consequently, this movement led to the confusion of things; the viewer must renounce the tactile experience, since this style appealed to the valorization of color above all other aspects.

Moving from surface to depth vision

Source: Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato

During the Renaissance period, according to the value attached to the line, the elements of a composition were superimposed on a surface. In Baroque art, by despising contours and line, the surface was also despised.

This means that the elements were governed by a depth optics. For this reason, it is common to observe (in the pictorial plane) human figures that do not have a natural background, since a large dark mass is appreciated around them.

Change from closed form to open form

Source: José Luis Filpo Cabana

In the Renaissance the artistic work bet on a perfectly delimited closed whole. On the contrary, the Baroque sought to "relax the rules" and distanced himself from the rigors of construction.

In addition, the Baroque was characterized by opposing the delimitation of the whole, distancing itself from the rigorous symmetry of the forms: it introduced compositional tensions. This artistic movement appealed to the instability of the work.

Step from multiplicity to unity

Source: Antonio de Pereda

In the Renaissance, each of the parts contained its own value, coordinating within the artistic plane. In Baroque art, unity was proposed from the confluence of the parts in a single motif, totally subordinating the various parts of the main element.

In other words, in the Baroque there is a main figure on which the rest of the objects depend.

Moving from absolute clarity to relative clarity of objects

Source: Antonio de Pereda

Previously, the objects - following their linear character within the representation - had a plastic quality that gave clarity to the composition.

In the baroque guidelines, light and color do not give definition to the forms or highlight the most important elements. In conclusion, in the Baroque, light and color have a life of their own and are not at the mercy of figures.

It's an exaggerated art

Source: Jlminchole

Baroque artists played with imbalance and tried to impress those who were observing with dramatic and dynamic forms. The distortion of the classic forms, the contrasts of light and shadow distinguish it.

The Baroque was a movement that was opposed to the art of the Renaissance and classicism. Its exaggerated character is reflected in its architecture, which had an excess of ornaments. For example, the St. Peter's Basilica in Rome designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

Syncretic type art

Source: Halleypo

Baroque cultural expressions were syncretic, in the sense that each artistic expression was linked to the others.

Architecture was closely linked to painting and sculpture. Also music, dance and theater, whose convergence created the opera. In other times, the characteristics of each type of art were more independent of each other.

Propaganda end

Source: Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez (Lmbuga)

Absolutism, the Church and the bourgeoisie used baroque art to promote their ideas. In response, baroque artists divided into those who worked for the church or for a monarch and those who wanted to be independent.

As a consequence, the topics covered by each artist were different. The Church for its part wanted to promote its doctrine and show that the Counter-Reformation was bearing fruit and that the Catholic Church had not been defeated.

In this line, the monarchs wanted to show that their power was absolute. Thanks to these, painting developed, especially the portrait genre.

Lastly, there were the freelance artists, who mostly lived in the Netherlands and Germany. Her works showed the daily life of the bourgeoisie. For example, works by Johannes Vermeer such as Girl reading a letter or Girl with a pearl.

Thanks to the "cultural politics" of these power groups, the Baroque era enjoyed a boom in ecclesiastical, monarchical and aristocratic patronage. Art became popular and many art schools were created, such as the Académie Royale d'Art in Paris in 1648 and the Akademie der Künste in Berlin in 1696.

The tenebrism

It is the contrast of lights and shadows thanks to the lighting. Although this concept is applied mostly to Baroque painting, it can be said that Baroque theater, sculpture and other genres of visual representation were influenced by this play with lighting.

Difficulties of Wölfflin's Six Precepts

Although Wölfflin's characteristics are considered mandatory to understand the transition from one artistic movement to another, some critics consider that this author had several flaws within his statements, since he did not consider the cultural, spiritual and sociological factors that influenced the epistemological change.

In addition, Wölfflin did not take into consideration that between the Renaissance and the Baroque, another movement was manifested which today is known as Mannerism; as a transitional period, it shares many characteristics of the earliest Baroque.

The Baroque was so important within its historical context that it not only spread throughout the arts, but also permeated other disciplines such as philosophy, psychology, politics, and even physics and mathematics.

Oswald Spengler was responsible for the extension of this concept, since in his famous work The Decline of the West he raised the existence of a Baroque era.

Starting in 1915, art scholars began to question the idea that the Baroque could be a constant in the history of humanity and within artistic styles.

This premise arose because, despite the fact that the Baroque developed in the seventeenth century, its aesthetic remains present to this day, since many great artists took the ideals of this time to transfer them to more modern manifestations.

For this reason, you can find in the XXII century a series of books that apply a baroque type of literature.

Fundamental elements to understand the baroque

Taking into account the precepts of Wölfflin together with the information previously presented, it is possible to extract some fundamental points to understand more fully the elements that constitute the Baroque. They are as follows:

The importance of the religious, the extravagant and the grotesque

The Baroque (both the old and the current) has a series of tensions that break with the classic parameters of symmetry and proportion.

In addition, he leans towards the representation of bloody and cruel scenes, where characteristics of the horrifying and the gloomy abound. Thanks to this, many scholars link the Baroque with pre-romanticism and romanticism.

Through religious themes, Baroque tends to express antinomies between the flesh and the spirit, worldly pleasures and heavenly joys. In addition, it is inclined towards the analysis of sins and repentance, as well as manifesting the ecstasy and bliss that are housed within some men.

The religious element is crucial to understand the Baroque; in fact, for some critics religion is an angular component of baroque expression.

Inclination toward worldly pleasures and uncontained fury

Man, as a figure within this movement, lets himself be carried away by contained forces; Baroque implies passion, movement and impulse in different directions. The Baroque tries to launch himself upwards, in his search for faith; however, he cannot detach himself from earthly appetites.

Within this artistic manifestation, spiritualism and sensualism are constantly confused, due to the fact that there is a convulsion between both positions that unleash exaggerated figures and highly loaded decorative elements.

In Baroque art, erotic and sensory values ​​are very important: the world is enjoyed through the senses, colors and sounds, all of these focused on voluptuousness and abundance.

A secularization of the transcendent is proposed, therefore it incorporates a questioning about the transience of life and worldly things. It seeks to remind man that everything is vain, ephemeral and transitory, trying to reach a reality that is free from imperfection and lies.

Baroque art

-Architecture

Fontana di Trevi

characteristics

Baroque architecture was characterized mainly by its notable rejection of simplicity; on the contrary to the Renaissance, the Baroque did not seek calculated and calm harmony, but imbalance, movement and the excessive. Consequently, the architects placed oval and elliptical plants, derived from geometric lines.

Likewise, they abandoned straight lines and flat surfaces, which they replaced with very curved lines and wavy surfaces.

This allowed the movement to enter the artistic world, also visible in the disciplines of sculpture and painting. In architecture, not only the main floor was undulated, but also all the facades and interiors.

Movement, light and shadow, theatrical effect

The idea of ​​the movement was also reinforced by other elements such as the split pediments, the Solomonic columns and the oval. Light was also fundamental in Baroque architecture, since it allowed the creation of chiaroscuro and movement effects, as can also be seen in painting.

To play with light, the architect made discontinuous surfaces that had deep recesses illuminated by the sun while the other side remained in the shadows, favoring the effect of chiaroscuro and contrast.

In turn, Baroque architecture enriched and complicated any traditional element such as arches and cornices, among others. The aim was to achieve a theatrical and spectacular effect, so the decorative element masked the true structure of the building.

Outstanding works

The Church of II Gesú in Rome

One of the first examples of Baroque architecture arises with this church, which symbolizes the end of the Renaissance and the beginning of the Baroque. Some of the characteristics of the facade of this building were repeated in other places such as Spain and even Latin America; for this reason, it is one of the most important buildings.

In this initial period it is still a relaxed Baroque, so it does not have an excessive game of curves and counter curves. However, Il Gesú has recesses and projections on its façade that herald the next stage of this movement.

St. Peter's Basilica: the work of Gianlorenzo Bernini

The Basilica of San Pedro, started by Michelangelo, has several Renaissance features, as can be seen in its basilica plan. However, Gianlorenzo Bernini was hired to finish the decoration of this building.

Of the details made by Bernini, the most common is the baldachin located inside this basilica, which is a precise example of the elements of the Baroque: it consists of a lot of gilding, movement and a horror vacui, since there is not a single space of this object that lacks ornaments and details.

The canopy has a series of oblique shapes and four Solomonic columns, which gives the feeling of movement and extravagance. Geometric shapes and natural elements are also participants in this architectural composition.

-Painting

Source: Rembrandt

characteristics

As for baroque painting, it maintains the same characteristics of architecture and sculpture, such as chiaroscuro, imbalance, movement, religious fervor, sensuality and complicated schemes.

Baroque painting appeals to naturalism, so that things are represented as the artist appreciates them, whether they are beautiful, ugly, pleasant or unpleasant.

For example, you can find scenes of beautiful Magdalenas (such as the Penitent Magdalene, by Murillo), but you can also see grotesque portraits (such as the Anatomy Lesson, by Rembrandt).

Baroque painting also stood out for its abundant representation of landscapes, still lifes and still lifes, where color predominates over any other element. In addition, the baroque artists bet (and bet) on the grandeur, because they are large canvases that could measure up to three meters in width.

However, light is the main protagonist in Baroque paintings. In the Renaissance, light was subordinated to forms, emphasizing their contour; in the Baroque, the form is the one that is subordinated to the light. This gave rise to one of the most striking currents of the Baroque, such as tenebrism.

Outstanding works

The tenebrism of Caravaggio

Darkness constituted the entire first phase of Baroque painting and consisted of a violent contrast of shadows and lights. The pioneer of this technique was Caravaggio, who was contemporary with El Greco, although their styles were very different.

One of his most important works, where gloomy in its purest expression can be perceived, is called the Crucifixion of Saint Peter. In this painting the light seizes the naked torso of Saint Peter, who is about to be crucified upside down.

The background of the painting is not delimited, since a large black mass takes over the last plane. Figures further away from San Pedro are darker, while those closest to them wear brighter colors and receive greater illumination.

Rembrandt as the highest representative of Dutch Baroque painting

In his initial stage, Rembrandt stood out mainly for his chiaroscuro and his colorful paintings, since he was influenced by the Caravaggist style.

His compositions are very moving; However, unlike Caravaggio's paintings, his brushstrokes are soft and the figures are diluted in the atmosphere, which encourages the development of fantastic and mysterious scenes.

This can be observed in a notorious way in the famous painting called The Night Watch, where the light rests mainly on two of the characters who wear yellow; As for the rest, the other characters that make up the photo wear dark reddish clothing.

The most striking character is that of a little girl, who due to the strong lighting she receives, looks like an angelic entity. Her face, pure and beautiful, is diluted by so much luminosity.

For his part, the central character receives strong pictorial contrasts due to his completely black clothing that highlights a red band that he wears on his chest.

Velázquez: one of the most important painters of all time

For many critics, Velázquez is perhaps the most important painter in the history of art. This appreciation is due to the fact that this Spanish painter established a new way of appreciating painting thanks to his play of mirrors and his pictorial deceptions.

Although his work is very coarse and really notorious, his most famous painting is that of Las Meninas (whose original name is The Family of Felipe IV). In this work you can see how the author worked with a mature perspective, which was supported by chiaroscuro and contrasts.

In the painting, two entrances of light can be seen: one that covers the little Infanta Margarita and her meninas and another that is manifested through the back door, where a real person appears.

This painting has crossed chronological boundaries because Velázquez did something that no other painter had done before: he painted himself as an artist.

This was of crucial importance for the world of painting since it gave autonomy to painters. Furthermore, the author seems to look complacently at the viewer, as if hinting at his immortality recorded through the creative act.

-Sculpture

Source: DnTrotaMundos ☮

characteristics

Baroque literature preserved the characteristics of the other artistic disciplines, mainly the ornate character of the artistic work. It is a sumptuous style that was mainly dedicated to recording the transience of human life, dreams, lies and struggle. He also focused on some mythological stories.

Regarding the compositional character, baroque literature used hyperbaton, ellipsis, adjectives, antithesis and metaphor in an excessive way, which made reading difficult on many occasions.

In the Spanish Baroque this literature coincided with the development of the well-known Golden Age, for which religious, love and honor themes dominated. In poetry, Baroque literature continued with the use of the Renaissance sonnet, but adding the voluptuousness typical of this movement.

During this period the acclaimed novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes appeared. Some very successful subgenres also appeared in the Iberian Peninsula, such as picaresque novels. In addition, another important writer appeared in theater: Pedro Calderón de la Barca.

Outstanding works

As for its best-known authors, it is worth highlighting the poets Luis de Góngora and Francisco de Quevedo. The first wrote a long romance entitled Fable of Pyramus and Thisbe, which is classified by critics as a highly complex poem that required a lot of rational and creative effort.

Likewise, Francisco de Quevedo wrote 875 poems, which were nuanced by different subgenres; some were satirical-burlesque, others of a loving and moral nature.

It also featured some religious and funeral verses. One of his best known poems is the so-called constant love beyond death.

Pedro Calderón de la Barca's best-known work was Life is a Dream, and it is acclaimed for its poetic beauty and perfect musicality. In this text the author played with the essence of dreams and with the close relationship that dreams have with the fleetingness of life and with earthly pleasures.

In the English Baroque, William Shakespeare stood out.

-Baroque music

Johann Sebastian Bach

Some of the characteristics of Baroque music are:

1. The contrast. As in other artistic expressions of the time, Baroque music shows a great contrast between the notes of each instrument and the voices of the singers.
2. The continuous bass was developed. For example, the same note was played with different instruments, such as the harpsichord or harpsichord and cello. In this way the difference between these sounds was appreciated. This altercation of sounds was followed by slow sounds.
3. Notal music developed. Before, music was modal and was based on ancient modes and scales. In the Baroque, the scale system was created: major and minor, with chords.
4. The measure and rhythm are created. The regular and marked pulse used today develops.
5. Instrumental music becomes independent.
6. Secular music became popular and developed.
7. The vocal forms are developed: opera, oratorio, cantata, passion.

-Baroque theater

The baroque style in the plays was characterized by six fundamental rules that governed it:

1. He broke the 3-unit rule. According to this, each play had a main action, a setting, and a day (the actions happened on the same day).
2. Reduction in the number of acts: from five to three.
3. The language was adapted, allowing the underprivileged classes to understand the theater.
4. Tragicomedy was introduced.
5. Importance was given to rhetorical figures in the characters' dialogues.
6. The meter of lyrical poetry is brought to the theater.

References

1. (SA) (sf) The Baroque: the historical setting and general characteristics. Retrieved on April 14, 2019 from Sabuco: sabuco.com
2. (SA) (sf) Notes on art history: the Baroque. Retrieved on April 15, 2019 from Educación Aragón: Ieselaza.educa.aragon.es
3. (SA) (sf) The Baroque: a changing society. Retrieved on April 15, 2019 Higher Education Repository: repositorio.educacionsuperior.gob.ec
4. Valbuena, A. (1960) El Barroco, Hispanic art. Retrieved on April 16, 2019 from Centro virtual cervantes: cvc.cervantes.es
5. Villareal, G. (2013) Baroque Art. Retrieved on April 14, 2019 from the Autonomous University of Hidalgo State: uaeh.edu.mx