• What is the Baroque?
• Baroque themes
• Baroque painting
• Baroque literature
• Baroque architecture
• Baroque music
• Authors and representatives of the Baroque

We explain what the baroque is, its characteristics and its main exponents. Also, what was the painting, music, architecture and literature of this period like.

The Baroque changed the way art was conceived.

What is the Baroque?

The Baroque was a period in the history of culture in the West, which spanned the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, and marked a change in the way of conceiving the art, which had an impact on numerous areas of the culture and knowledge, like letters, architecture, the fine arts and the philosophy.

The Baroque style stood out mainly in the arts and was characterized by the ornate, the expression of the inner passions, the extravagance, the detail and the excess of ornament, and was seen in disciplines such as the poetry, the painting and the sculpture.

Emerged at a time of tensions after the protestant reformation, the counter-reform and the rise of absolutist monarchies, the Baroque occurred in Europe western and in some of its colonies, such as Latin America, from the seventeenth century after the Renaissance. Its origin, however, dates back to Italy, during the period known as Seicento, and his name for a long time was used in a derogatory way, to refer to something ornate, capricious or deceptive.

After the 19th century, the term "baroque" was revalued and is currently used not only to refer to this period, but to name any artistic manifestation that goes against the values ​​of the classicism.

Baroque themes

The Baroque sought to rescue the values ​​of the Catholic Church.

The name "baroque", according to some theories, comes from the Portuguese word used for pearls that had some deformity or irregularity. Hence, initially the name was used to refer to a certain ornate, bombastic and excessive artistic style. Later, this term was used to refer to a "degenerate" form of the Renaissance and, finally, it ended up being considered as the negation of the classical.

The Baroque radically changed the way of making art and thinking about culture, and some of its main characteristics were:

• He opposed the Renaissance. While the Renaissance was characterized by rescuing classical culture, anthropocentrism, the search for perfection and symmetry, and encompassed themes such as love and beauty, the Baroque was colored by pessimism, asymmetry and sought to reflect passions and awaken emotions.
• He exalted the values ​​of religion and the monarchy. During the Baroque, the figure of the absolute monarchy was enhanced, and the Catholic Church used different artistic expressions as a means of propaganda, in the face of the threat of Protestantism. Thus, great palaces, churches and cathedrals were built that sought to highlight the idea of ​​the national and the religious.
• He produced ostentatious and elegant works. This period was characterized by focusing on details and generating exuberant, striking and ornate pieces. Baroque is usually related to the term "horror vacui", which refers to the total filling of a work, without leaving empty places.
• Represented passions. The artists of this period sought to awaken emotions in the viewers or readers, for that they made use of detail, lights and shadows and literary resources. They sought to generate an effect and for that they resorted to ornamentation.
• It was expressed in the different arts. The Baroque was a very broad movement because it had exponents in different artistic fields and disciplines, such as painting, sculpture, architecture, literature and the music.

Baroque painting

Naturalism was based on the observation and reproduction of nature.

Baroque painting was one of the most developed artistic expressions during the Baroque movement and one that exhibited the greatest diversity.

On the one hand, the religious painting carried out by the Catholic religion stood out, which sought to proclaim its faith in the face of the threat of the Lutheran reform (which marked the beginning of Protestantism). In turn, the painting carried out by the bourgeoisie Protestant also excelled in this period, in the production of scenery and scenes from everyday life.

Some of the main representatives of the Baroque in painting were: Diego Velázquez (1599-1660) in Spain, Rembrandt (1606-1669) in the Netherlands and Michelangelo Caravaggio (1571-1610) in Italy.

The main features that characterized Baroque painting were:

• The use of dark light (known as gloomy).
• The search for realism.
• The use of movement and asymmetry.
• The predominance of color over the line.
• The use of depth.

In addition, there were two opposing aspects in Baroque art (especially in Italian painting):

• Naturalism. It was a style that was based on observation and reproduction of the nature as it was, with the representation of scenes from everyday life. This style used tenebrism (a taste for chiaroscuro) and its main exponent was Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio.
• Classicism. It was a style opposed to naturalism that was influenced by classical forms, in which harmony and drawing predominated over color. Its main exponents were the Carracci family.

Baroque literature

In the baroque novel satire and mockery were used.

Baroque literature was highly determined by the Catholic Counter-Reformation and absolutist values, so social discontent and pessimism were translated into literary works that were produced from the seventeenth century. Baroque authors dealt with themes such as dreams, hopelessness, lies and pessimism and took off from the Renaissance, which dealt with themes related to love and beauty.

Baroque texts were characterized by being overloaded and using poetic or literary resources (such as metaphors, Ellipse or adjectival), which sought to awaken an emotion in the reader. One of the most important literary currents of this period was Spanish baroque literature (which covered part of the Golden age Spanish), with representatives such as Francisco de Quevedo and Tirso de Molina.

The main literary genres of the Baroque were:

• The novel. With this genre came the possibility of satire and mockery, which used high-sounding language, rhetorical figures and mythological allusions. The picaresque novel had its peak in this period.
• The poetry. Within poetry there were two main currents: culteranismo, which focused on the aesthetics of language and not so much on its message (its greatest exponent was Luis de Góngora), and concept, which focused on the link between words and concepts.
• Theater. The theater reached one of its highest points in the Baroque, with satirical comedies and autos sacramentales.

Baroque architecture

Baroque architecture was highly influenced by the political and religious context of the 17th century. On the one hand, the Lutheran reform brought in response a Catholic counter-reform that sought, through the construction of churches and cathedrals, to show the power of the Catholic faith and its greatness. This is how emblems such as the basilica and St. Peter's Square were built in the Vatican.

In addition, the absolutist monarchies that were in full development sought to reflect their power (and that of the upper echelons of society) through the construction of ostentatious palaces with gardens decorated with fountains. Such is the case of the Palace of Versailles, in France, which was built in 1623 by order of King Louis XIV, and Louis Le Vau and André Le Nôtre (in charge of the design of the gardens) intervened in its design.

Some of the main characteristics of Baroque architecture were:

• It was characterized by excessive ornamentation and by construction and decoration with many details.
• It sought to reflect movement and dynamism, which was evidenced in the use of the curved line and the incorporation of domes, arches and twisted columns.
• He established a very close relationship with other artistic disciplines, incorporating statues, fountains, stuccoes and frescoes.
• He excelled in the construction of churches and palaces.
• He gave importance to urbanization with the creation of squares and common places.

Baroque music

The Baroque was also represented in music, with exponents such as Johann Sebastian Bach and Antonio Vivaldi. As in other disciplines, music during the Baroque was a channel used by artists to express their passions. Among the main contributions of this time are: the development of musical forms such as the sonata, cantata and opera, polychorality, the development of the tonal system and the development of counterpoint.

One of the milestones of this period was the establishment of the basso continuo, which is a technique instrumental accompaniment. The continuous bass had a serious and melodic instrument that worked like the bass and harmonic instruments that improvised, on that basis, a harmony.

Another of the contributions of music at this time was the birth of opera, a sung show that had resources from different disciplines. Although it had its origins in Greek theater, opera was developed in the late 16th century. The play The Daphne (with libretto by Ottavio Rinuccini and music by Jacobo Peri) was written in 1597 and is considered the first opera.

The death of the German composer Johann Sebastian Bach in 1750 is taken as the end of the baroque period in music.

Authors and representatives of the Baroque

Some of the most prominent artists of the Baroque were:

• Literature:
  
  • Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616). He was a Spanish novelist of the Golden Age and is considered one of the most important authors of the Spanish language. He is the author of the first modern novel: The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quijote of La Mancha.
  • Luis de Góngora (1561-1627). He was a Spanish poet of the Golden Age and the main representative of culteranismo. His production includes romances, sonnets, letrillas and major poems, such as Solitudes.
  • Lope de Vega Carpio (1562-1635). He was a Spanish poet and playwright of the Golden Age. He is recognized for his vast work, which includes comedies, sonnets and poems. Sourceovejuna Y The dog in the manger are two of his most recognized works.
  • Francisco de Quevedo (1580-1645). He was a Spanish Golden Age writer recognized as much for his poetry as for his prose. His main works are The life of the Buscón Y Dreams.
  • Tirso de Molina (1583-1648). He was a playwright and poet of the Spanish Golden Age. He excelled at writing comedies, such as The Trickster of Seville, and autos sacramentales (religious works).
  • Pedro Calderón de la Barca (1600-1681). He was a Spanish poet and playwright and one of the main representatives of the Golden Age. His most important work is The life is dream.
  • Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1648-1695). She was a Mexican writer and one of the main exponents of the American Baroque. His work includes sonnets, Christmas carols and romances.
  • John Donne (1572-1631). He was an English Anglican poet and priest and one of the exponents of metaphysical poetry. He wrote sermons, essays, and poems, such as Devotions and mourning death.
  • John Milton (1608-1674). He was an English poet and author of poems, essays, and sonnets. His most recognized work is the poem Paradise lost.
  • William Shakespeare (1564-1616). He was an English poet and playwright, who is considered one of the most important authors in world literature. He wrote poetry, dramas, and comedies, such as Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet Y Macbeth.
• Painting Y sculpture:
  
  • Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610). He was an Italian painter and one of the main exponents of tenebrism. He is considered the father of modern painting and his most important works are: The vocation of Saint Matthew, The disciples of Emmaus Y Daffodil.
  • Pedro Pablo Rubens (1577-1640). He was a German painter who was a member of the Flemish school. He was a prolific artist of which a large number of sketches and works are preserved, among which the following stand out: The descent from the cross, The three graces Y The judgment of Paris.
  • Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1654). She was an Italian painter who excelled in painting pictures featuring women. His most recognized works are: Judith beheading Holofernes, Susana and the old men Y Lucrecia.
  • Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680). He was an Italian sculptor and painter considered a benchmark in Baroque sculpture. Some of his most emblematic works are: Apollo and Daphne, Ecstasy of Santa Teresa Y The abduction of Proserpina.
  • Diego Velázquez (1599-1660). He was a Spanish painter and the main representative in this discipline of the Baroque in Spain. He was a chamber painter to King Philip IV and painted religious, mythological works, portraits and landscapes. Among his most important works are: Las Meninas, Mirror venus Y The triumph of Bacchus.
  • Rembrandt (1606-1669). He was a Dutch painter and one of the main representatives of Baroque painting in that country. He excelled in the use of chiaroscuro and some of his most important works are: The night watch, The return of the prodigal son Y The storm on the Sea of ​​Galilee.
  • Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675). He was a Dutch painter of whom few works are known, dealing with themes of everyday life, portraits and landscapes. His most recognized works are: The girl of the pearl, Girl reading a letter Y The art of painting.

• Music:
  
  • Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741). He was an Italian composer and violinist who produced operas, cantatas, and concerts. Some of his works are The four Seasons, Magnificat Y Glory RV 589.
  • Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). He was a German musician who is considered one of the most prominent composers in history. He was an organist, violinist and author of secular and religious preludes, concerts, sonatas and cantatas. His most recognized works are: Passion according to Matthew, Brandenburg Concerts Y Toccata and fugue in D minor.
  • Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759). He was a German composer and one of the most influential musicians of the Baroque period. He excelled in the production of operas and also performed cantatas, oratorios, and serenades. Among his most important works are: The Messiah, Rinaldo Y Water music.