Baroque Period
A term used in the literature of the arts with both historical and significant meanings and as both an adjective and a noun; baroque has a long multifaceted and contentious history. ... Baroque is the style dominating the art and architecture of Europe and certain European colonies in the Americans from 1600 to 1750. The work that distinguishes the Baroque period is stylistically complex, and even contradictory. ... Some of the traits most commonly connected with the Baroque are grandeur, sensuous richness, drama, vitality, movement, tension, emotional exuberance, and a tendency to blur distinctions between the various arts. Three elements in the cultural life of Western Europe helped form the Baroque style. ... Baroque painters, architects, and sculptors achieved balance in a more dramatic and exciting way. ... The more dramatic Baroque architect would replace the rectangular areas with curved areas. ... Magnificent Baroque palaces such as Versailles in France and the Zwinger in Germany expressed the power and authority of the head of state. ... Baroque churches expressed the drama and emotion of this movement. Among the general characteristics of baroque art is a sense of flowing energy, and tension. ... Intense spirituality is often prevalent in works of baroque art. ... Realism is another integral feature of baroque art; the figures in paintings are not types but individuals with their own personalities.