Baroque Art
Seventeenth Century Movement in Painting, Sculpture & Architecture.
Visual Arts Guide

Samson and Delilah (1609-1610) by
Peter Paul Rubens, one of the most
famous artists of the Baroque style.

Baroque Art Style

In fine art, the term Baroque (from the Portuguese 'barocco' meaning, 'irregular pearl or stone') encompasses a wide range of 17th century and early 18th century art styles in painting, sculpture and especially architecture. It reflects both the religious tensions of the age, along with the divine grandeur and religious certainty of Catholic monarchs, as well as the influence of the growing merchant and middle classes.

The three main strands of Baroque were: (1) A grand, extravagant almost theatrical style associated with the Catholic Counter Reformation and the courts of the absolute monarchies of Europe. This type of Baroque art is exemplified by the bold visionary sculpture of Bernini (1598-1680), and by the large-scale grandiose set-piece paintings of the Flemish master Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640).

The Night Watch (1642) (detail) by
Rembrandt Van Rijn.

(2) A dramatic realistic style exemplified by Michelangelo Merisi da Carravaggio and by Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velazquez (1599-1660). (3) Genre-scene realism, a style mastered in Holland by the Dutch Realist Schools of Delft and Utrecht, and exemplified by the paintings of Rembrandt (1606-69), and Jan Vermeer (1632-75).

The first two Baroque styles (both stimulated by the Catholic Church, then the leading patron of the arts, as a reaffirmation of tradition and spirituality) led artists to explore the depiction of light and shadow (chiaroscuro, tenebrism) on the canvas, and all three made full use of the new medium of oil painting, to create rich, sometimes sumptuous colour schemes. In contrast to the Renaissance and Mannerism, when a significant amount of art comprised large scale public works, Baroque artists executed a growing proportion of easel-paintings for private and domestic viewing.

The Burial Of Count Orgaz, Detail
Of The Franciscans (1623) by El Greco.

Famous Baroque Paintings by Old Masters

Peter Paul Rubens
Samson and Delilah (1609), National Gallery, London.
The Judgement of Paris (1635-38), National Gallery, London.
Carravaggio
The Conversion on the Way to Damascus (1601), Chapel of Santa Maria Rome.
Supper at Emmaus (1602), National Gallery, London.
Diego Velazquez
The Surrender of Breda (1634-5), Museo del Prado, Madrid.
Las Meninas (1656), Museo del Prado, Madrid.
Rembrandt
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp (1632), Mauritshuis, The Hague.
The Night Watch (1642) Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
Jacob Blessing the Children of Joseph (1656), Gemaldegalerie, Kassel.
Jan Vermeer
The Girl with the Pearl Earring (1665), Mauritshuis, The Hague.
The Artist's Studio (c.1665), Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

Among other outstanding Baroque artists are: the portrait painter Van Dyck (1599-1641), - for more portraitists, see Baroque Portraits - and Frans Snyders (1579-1657) the foremost still life and animal painter.

Apollo and Daphne (1622-25)
Gianlorenzo Bernini.

Famous Baroque Sculptures

Giovanni Bernini
The Rape of Proserpine (1621-22) Galleria Borghese, Rome.
Apollo and Daphne (1622-25), Galleria Borghese, Rome.
Cornaro Chapel (1645-52), Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome.

For details of more sculpture from the 17th century, see: Baroque Sculptors.

• For other art movements and periods, see: History of Art.
• For styles of painting and sculpture in Ireland, see: Irish Art

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