From The Renaissance To The Baroque

The stylistic changes that mark the shift from the Renaissance to the Baroque are very dramatic. The Baroque era spanned a turbulent century and a half. Roughly, the Baroque era started in 1600 and continued until around 1750. The term “baroque” probably came from the Portuguese word barroco, which was an irregular shaped pearl that was used in the jewelry of the time. The Baroque period was a time of adventure and much change.

The Triumph of the Immaculate by Paolo de Matteis

he discovery of the New World cause imaginations to soar and filled
the coffers of the Old World. The middle classes gathered wealth and power in a struggle with the aristocracy. Empires clashed as each tried to become master of the New World. Appalling poverty and wasteful luxury, magnificent idealism and savage oppression – against contradictions such as these revealed the pomp and splendor of Baroque art. An art of bold gestures and conception, Baroque art is exceptionally vigorous, highly decorative and very monumental.