baroque

baroque Term (perhaps derived from the Portuguese barroca, a misshapen pearl) applied to the style of art and architecture prevalent in Europe in the 17th and early 18th centuries. Baroque was at its height in the Rome of Bernini, Borromini, and Pietro de Cortona (c.1630–80), and in s Germany with Balthazar Neumann and Fischer von Erlach (c.1700–50). At its best, high baroque was a blend of light, colour and movement calculated to overwhelm the spectator by a direct emotional appeal. Paintings contained visual illusions, and sculpture exploited the effect of light on surface and contour. Buildings were heavily decorated with stucco ornament and free-standing sculpture. Baroque was closely linked to the Counter-Reformation and was therefore strongest in Roman Catholic countries. Baroque became increasingly florid before merging with the lighter style of Rococo. The term is often used to describe the period as well as the style. In music, the period is notable for several stylistic developments. Musical textures became increasingly contrapuntal, culminating in the masterpieces of J. S. Bach and Handel. Many purely instrumental forms of increasing virtuosity, such as the fugue, sonata, concerto, suite, toccata, passacaglia, and chaconne, emerged and became popular.