Importance of the Baroque Period

Deciphering the Baroque: defining its spatial and temporal limits.- The Baroque period is one of the most important in the history of the West since it has served for the construction of the European identity that was looking for and yearning to escape the classicism inherited from the Renaissance in which the rules of art, painting, sculpture and architecture were perfected and represented the aesthetic values ​​of the academy.

To start talking about the Baroque, we must frame it in time and space. Thus, we can say that the historical moment that characterized this school was basically the 17th century, with differences in the different parts of Europe where it was strong: in some places its features began to be seen earlier and in others later within that same century.

Unlike what happened with the Renaissance, the Baroque had more effect in countries like Spain, Portugal, Holland, the Netherlands, Belgium, parts of Italy and Germany. These countries were at that time (especially in the case of Spain) in a time of economic growth and this artistic style characterizes them.

An artistic period of darkness, passion and religiosity

When we seek to characterize the Baroque period, we must mark two or three founding elements that serve to clearly understand its significance in the historical context. In the first place, the Baroque is related to the context of religious crisis that was experienced in Europe since 1500 when Luther decided write his 95 theses against the Catholic Church and found from that the Protestant Reformation, Lutheranism and all its consequent variants.

The Catholic Church then carried out the Counter-Reformation, opposed to impious desires according to her for destabilization and ordered a number of European artists to carry out works of all kinds that could beautify religious establishments as well as tell clearly for an illiterate public the sorrows of Jesus Christ, the beauty of religion Catholicism, the wonders of God and other topics. We can say that in strongly Catholic countries this style had greater acceptance and diffusion than in others.

Artistic characteristics of the Baroque and artists

In addition, the works of the Baroque left aside many of the rules founded in the Renaissance such as proportion, linearity, geometric perfection and if we observe paintings of artists of this period we will be able to see much more contoured bodies, chiaroscuro that highlights parts and hides others, suffering or pain-filled expressions, more aggressive colors, etc

The same thing happens in sculpture, much more complex and suffering than the Renaissance. In architecture we find forms of curves and countercurves that take off from the typical straight lines of the previous period.

Among these artists we must mention Diego Velázquez, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Nicolas Poussin, Anton Van Dyck, Borromini, Bernini and many others. We must also remember that due to its direct links with Catholic religiosity, this artistic style was the one that had the most arrival in America dominated by Spain and Portugal.

Photos: iStock – Karl-Friedrich Hohl / Nikola Nastasic