If you've heard of Baroque, it's likely it was from Disney's animated Magnum opus "Beauty and the Beast." While giving her a tour of the castle, Cogsworth quips to Belle, "If it's not Baroque, don't fix it!"
Cogsworth was gushing over the architecture of the castle, but Baroque also refers to a style of painting and sculpture (as well as orchestral music - but that's a whole other story). The style flourished in 17th and early 18th century Europe. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Art, Baroque style is defined by its expressive quality, dramatic and dynamic compositions and overall decorative appeal.
Baroque paintings and sculptures are often realistic, if dramatic. Rich colors and strong contrast help to create drama in paintings. Baroque works focus on the moment. Its meant to make you feel something.
Works of this style - paintings, sculptures and architecture - strive to create a sense of movement by drawing viewers' eyes through the piece.
Baroque works often represent religious or historical scenes. Religious scenes were popular because during this time period the Church was the greatest patron of the arts. Baroque is often viewed as the artistic style of the Catholic Counter-Reformation. Its drama reflects the sensationalism the Church used to try to draw people to it.
Caravaggio is considered to be the first true master of this style in painting. Some of his most famous works include "The Crucifixion of Saint Peter" and "Judith Beheading Holofernes." Both of these are subjects taken from the Bible. "The Crucifixion of Saint Peter" shows St. Peter at the moment he is placed on the cross. His body slices the canvas diagonally, and the look of horror on his face is obvious.
Other Baroque painters include Orazio and Artemesia Genteleschi, Peter Paul Rubens, Johannes Vermeer (of "Girl with a Pearl Earring" fame) and Rembrandt.
Bernini is perhaps the most well-known of the Baroque sculptors. His "Rape of Proserpina," taken from the Latin myth, masterfully shows movement in marble. Bernini's "David" of the biblical David and Goliath is only second to Michelangelo's famous sculpture of the same name. His David twists to hurl a stone at the giant, his lips pursed and brow furrowed in concentration. Rumor has it that the sculpture is facially a self-portrait of the artist.
If you're looking to see Baroque art in D.C., the National Gallery is a good place to start. Currently, the gallery is exhibiting "The Baroque Woodcut" through March 30. The collection features prints by Rubens and Albrecht Dürer, among many others. The gallery's permanent collection also features several Baroque-style works, like Nicolas Poussin's "Assumption of the Virgin" and Giuseppe Maria Crespi's "Tarquin and Lucretia" in the west building.
