The Baroque Style

The Baroque era began in the year 1600, at the end of the Renaissance period (Kamien 99). The word Baroque has had several different meanings. Back in its time, the word Baroque has meant: Bizarre, Flamboyant, and Elaborately ornamented. Historians, however, used this word to indicate the particular style in all different forms of art that fills space; which includes canvas, stone, or sound (Kamien 99). The Baroque Period is also known as “the age of absolutism” because so many different rulers of the time used and abused their royal power to control their subjects. For example, in Germany, the duke of Weimar imprisoned the famous Johann Sebastian Bach into prison for a month just because Bach asked to leave his job as the Duke’s musician (Kamien 99). This era in time was also home to scientific discoveries by Newton and Galileo. The Baroque era has shaped the world, as they knew it, to what the people of the twenty-first century all know and love.

Bernini's David represents the Baroque time shift in art. The shift towards the baroque art period seemed to have a change within the overall narrative of the sculptures. Prior to Bernini’s version of David there existed David’s sculpted by Donatello and Michelangelo. Donatello’s David was sculpted during the time of humanism, where a large influence came from the ancient Greco-Roman culture. The overall emotion of the sculpture is soft and youthful and creates the image of David after he had beaten Goliath. There really is no distinct emotion within David himself in this sculpture. In the high renaissance period Michelangelo sculpted his version of David. This sculpture began to form some energy which was seen in David’s tensed facial expression,

The era known as the Baroque period includes the seventeenth and most of the eighteenth centuries in Europe. The Baroque style was a style in which the art and artists of the time focused upon details and intricate designs. Their art often appeals to the mind by way of the heart. During this time the portraits began to portray modern life, and artists turned their backs on classical tradition. Much of the art shows great energy and feeling, and a dramatic use of light, scale, and balance (Preble 302). Buildings were more elaborate and ornately decorated. These works of art created history and altered the progress of Western Civilization. Architecture such as the palace of Versailles, and artists like

King Louis XIV of France's use of the Baroque style is most easily seen and described in and with the Palace of Versailles, a palace coveted and imitated by other rulers. He was quite the trend setter. His hall of mirrors is perhaps the most famous and recognized of its features. Seventeen mirrors, framed with arches, are placed across from the seventeen windows, distorting the reality just as Wolfflin described. This creates the effect of having the hall seem much bigger than it actually is. On the ceiling are canvases; everywhere you look there is something interesting. There are columns of bronze and marble, and the combination of these features mixes many styles and time periods; a feature of Baroque architecture.

Antony and the Johnsons: I Am a Bird Now was released on February 1, 2005, originally on an Audio CD, and the genre of music is Baroque Pop. It has the best album artwork because of its craft and the meaning behind the image. Usually, album covers are done with such creativity there may be too many colors or visual aspects that will be hard for a person to try to understand the meaning behind the image. For this image, the use of color or any other visual aspect is not the issue. It is done as an understated grayscale photograph, not allowing from any distraction from the woman in the middle. The contrast of lighting on the young woman is helpful as well as depicting on what they eye should focus on.

The Baroque Period (1600-1750) was mainly a period of newly discovered ideas. From major new innovations in science, to vivid changes in geography, people were exploring more of the world around them. The music of the baroque period was just as extreme as the new changes. Newly recognized composers such as Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, and Monteverdi were writing entirely new musical ideas and giving a chance for new voices to be heard that were normally not thought of sounds. Their musical legacy is still recognized today, and is a treasured discovery of outstanding compositions being reiterated with every performance of them.

The scientific revolution is traditionally considered to be framed between 1543—the year of On the revolutions of the heavenly spheres by Nicolaus

The Baroque Period (1600-1750) was mainly a period of newly discovered ideas. From major new innovations in science, to vivid changes in geography, people were exploring more of the world around them. The music of the baroque period was just as extreme as the new changes. Newly recognized composers such as Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, and Monteverdi were writing entirely new musical ideas and giving a chance for new voices to be heard that were normally not thought of sounds. Their musical legacy is still recognized today, and is a treasured discovery of outstanding compositions being reiterated with every performance of them.

Learning the history of how Baroque era would be major influence on how we see art after many centuries ago. During this era it open many doors for many people and it show us how everything would be linked to each other. Baroque era was really important time because during the Baroque era we had many things that were being accomplished for instance opera, dance and music.

Many of the Spanish Colonial Era Churches in the Province of Albay have succumbed to the “wrecker ball” culture and there are only a few left. One of these earthquake Baroque treasures is the Church of Nuestra Señora de la Porteria in the town of Daraga which is representative on an era in the province’s history. Built mainly with volcanic rocks during the 18th Century, the church that was declared as a National Treasure, bears details of the Baroque style and the shell of the structure is still intact even if most of the interior had already been destroyed or altered. Stakeholders decided to conserve the structure and restore the portions that could still be possibly restored especially the Eastern and Northern walls.

To understand the characteristics of Baroque style is to truly understand artistic measures of the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. Baroque, a single word describing an entire period of art, can be broken down into more than one actual form of art. The new European age birthed this developing style of architecture, coming from ideas on religion and politics. Set apart in three different countries, visitors of St. Peter’s Basilica, Versailles, and Hampton Court Palace, engulf themselves in historic Baroque styles and beauty. The international style “was reinterpreted in different regions so that three distinct manifestations of the style emerged” (Matthews 392). The florid, classical, and restrained baroque design of the three different buildings gives us a historic lesson on the reasoning behind its purpose.

In 1600 a new style of music began to evolve, this form of music was

At this time last year, I would have considered all music before the 20th century to be classical. However, after taking a Dual Credit Music Appreciation course, I realized that “old” music cannot simply be grouped into a single category. There are so many differences that I had no idea existed. Throughout the years, music has changed and evolved, meeting the needs of listeners and performers. Different composers have been catalysts in this change as they have developed new styles and genres. Even though the classical period is directly subsequent of the baroque period, baroque and classical music have countless different qualities and characteristics.

Baroque Period, during which a few of the greatest composers on this planet were born, brought classical music onto a whole new level. The word “Baroque”, which came from the Portuguese for “the imperfect pearl”, implies strange, extravagant and overblown. Toccata, fugue, chorale, ortario, and the concerto Grosso, all of these special musical forms were created and represent this period. The six main characteristics: increased emotional expression, contrast, use of basso continuo, continued harmonic development, use of ornament, and the emphasis of improvisation, molded the unique style of music of the Baroque period.

The following period of Baroque and Rococo become popular in Italy, France, and Northern Europe. In Baroque we see social, economic, and political change such as the church losing political/religious power and monarchs gaining power. New styles, forms, and patrons are developed such as the Bernini’s Plaza. The Bernini’s Plaza has a gathering group of sorts, where we have a rhombus and a circle pieta that welcomes and invites people which is described as mother church reaching out and grabbing the faithful. If we look into Bernini’s cathedral we see can see Baldachinno or little canopy which is over the relics of St. Peter (protects and marks spot of where the relic is kept. The little canopy is used to overwhelm the senses and to bring the viewer’s attention in. The Baldachinno columns are twisty and are heavily decorated with bronze to show how dramatic and decorative it was to catch viewer’s attention. The throne of St. Peter was very popular and was also a place where the pope would sit on during special occasions. St. Peter’s throne emphasized a heavenly connection. There was also a window that would let light in, and above the window were bronze rods that would reflect light which would have made the window very bright and beautiful on a heavenly level to show the importance of St. Peters throne and how important it was. Baroque in Italy was more focused on the drapery and in which direction the wind was blowing to make the drapery look like it was alive or real (tried