The 4 most important characteristics of the Baroque

These are the most characteristic aspects of Baroque art, explained.

When we think of Baroque art, we think of those twisted and dramatic images in the churches, where we can see either a suffering Christ or a Magdalene in penitence with her eyes full of tears.

Yes, Baroque art is often an excessive art (we must admit it), and also pathetic (in its truest meaning, that is, highly expressive). Often, this style arouses in us equal parts attraction and rejection.

But what is the Baroque really? What is its language? What is it trying to convey to us? What is its aesthetic ideal?

In this article we will try to put thread to the needle and briefly describe the essence and the most important characteristics of the Baroque. the most important characteristics of the Baroque.

What is Baroque art?

We call Baroque art the style that developed in Europe from the end of the 16th century to the beginning of the 18th century.. Although it was established in a very specific period of history, it did not have the same characteristics in all European countries.

The Catholic Church of Rome played a fundamental role in its development, a role that we will explain later. By way of summary, we can say that the Baroque (specifically, the Catholic Baroque of southern Europe) sought to move the faithful through expression, exalted emotion and drama.

But first, let us dwell on its origins, otherwise we will not understand how this style came about.

The origins of the Baroque

Before we begin to address the characteristics of the Baroque, which can help us to recognize and understand it, let us briefly review some aspects of its origin.

1. The name

As with many other words that are now used academically without any problem, the term "Baroque" was born in the Enlightenment as a more or less pejorative concept. was born in the Enlightenment as a more or less pejorative concept.. It was used to designate something "extravagant" or "confused", in clear opposition to the "balanced" and "clean" style of the late eighteenth century, which recovered the classical canons.

Thus, just as the term "Gothic" was initially used to disparage the art of the second Middle Ages (an art of Goths, of barbarians, they said), "Baroque" was in turn used to denote the excessive styles of the centuries preceding the Enlightenment.

Because the Baroque was born in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, and the scenario of its birth is clear and concrete. Let us see what historical, social and ideological events paved the way for its emergence.

2. The Baroque and the Counter-Reformation

One hundred years earlier, at the beginning of the 16th century, a German monk named Martin Luther had nailed to the doors of the palace church in Wittenberg his 95 theses, which, among other things, fiercely attacked the Church for its unconscionable greed and corruption.The 95 Theses, of a religious nature, in which, among other things, he fiercely attacked the Church for its excessive greed and corruption.

In particular, the target of his criticism was the indulgences that in those years the Church sold in exchange for the remission of punishment for sins. Let us remember that the Vatican was financing the construction the Vatican was financing the construction of the new St. Peter's Basilica, and such work required some arches to be built.and such work required coffers that were always full.

Luther's rebellion split the Western Church forever. Gradually, the German princes aligned themselves with his cause, and once the Reformation was over, Rome could only count on the loyalty of southern Europe, especially France, Italy and Spain.

It was then that the Roman Church deployed a veritable religious propaganda campaign to keep those Catholics who were still faithful to it. This response, which received the name of Counter-Reformation for obvious reasons, had its greatest and best vehicle of expression in Baroque art.

The Baroque: a new art for an old faith

Indeed, the Vatican imbued this new style with all its ideological artillery.. The aim was that the faithful, when contemplating a canvas or a sculpture, would receive an impact of faith, of the "true faith", of course, and thus distance them from any Lutheran "deviation".

How did Baroque art manage to move its public in this way? By means of various techniques and diverse resources that we will detail below.

1. Emotivity

The Baroque is a highly dramatic language, there is no doubt about that.. Its main objective was, as we have already pointed out, to move its audience. Therefore, he had to feel identified with what he saw before his eyes.

For this purpose, expressions are dramatized to the maximum. The saints in martyrdom suffer, and suffer much. Christ himself really agonizes on the Cross. One can perceive each of his wounds, each of his drops of Blood and all the convulsions of his body. The penitent Magdalene's face is swollen and red from weeping. Some sculptures even included elements such as natural hair or crystal tears to accentuate the realistic to accentuate the realistic effect of the images, and also their pathos.

We can easily imagine the reaction of the faithful when contemplating such works. The saint is no longer a mystical, unattainable being, who shows no sign of pain; he is a human being like himself, who bleeds, groans and suffers. Even more powerful is the image of Christ. The Son of God has his forehead full of blood, his sides full of wounds; Christ is not only God, he is also a man.

2. Theatricality

The Spanish and Italian Baroque takes this dramatism to the maximum, to the point where figures and scenes seem to be taken from a stage..

The theater enjoyed great fame in the Baroque world and, related to it, the sharp contrasts of light and shadow in the canvases. Very often we have the sensation of finding ourselves not in front of a painting, but in front of a theatrical scene frozen in time. The arrangement of the figures, their grandiloquent gestures and, above all, that powerful focus of unreal light, responsible for the famous baroque chiaroscuro.responsible for the famous baroque chiaroscuro, are some of the elements that help to transmit this sensation.

And, once again, let us imagine the reaction of the faithful to find themselves before something similar. Like the ancient Greek theater, these effects were supposed to produce a catharsis within them.. He then had the certainty of being before something supernatural, divine, true. It was the "authentic" faith that unfolded before him. This was no more and no less the intention of the Church of Rome, and for this reason it exploited all the possibilities of this new style and brought it closer to its cause.

3. The chiaroscuro

We have already mentioned it in the previous point; in the Baroque paintings of the Mediterranean area (that is, Catholic), the play of light and shadow is usually abrupt and violent.

From a corner of the canvas appears a powerful beam of light, similar to the one that would give a modern theater or cinema spotlight.. In some paintings, the chiaroscuro caused by this beam of light is so intense that many of the characters are almost in darkness. This intense and direct light serves to highlight the main character or some important expression in the narration of the story.

In Caravaggio's "Supper at Emmaus", the light shines on Christ's magnificent face, while the disciples are in darkness around him. It is not known exactly where the light source comes from; perhaps from a bonfire on the far left of the painting, which we cannot see? From the flickering light of a candle?

With Baroque art we always have that vague sensation of unreality, of vision, of scenography.. And this despite the fact that not a few artists, like Caravaggio himself, took their models from the lowest strata of society and placed their characters in simple, everyday environments.

4. Exaggeration (and confusion) of feelings

One of the common denominators in Catholic Baroque art is exaggeration. Pain is multiplied by a thousand, wounds bleed more than usual, facial expressions seem to be taken from a stage. And even more: feelings and emotions are not only exacerbated, but sometimes even confused..

Take for example Bernini's famous sculpture "The Ecstasy of St. Teresa". The saint is receiving a divine ray in the heart, which an angel throws at her. Her face breaks down in a mystical ecstasy. But... it could well be the face of a woman who is feeling intense sexual pleasure.

The Baroque constantly deceives us, it tends us ephemeral illusions, as if everything were part of a great scenery, of an enormous farce, of an eternal play. "Life is a dream", as Calderón's famous play, baroque by the way, puts it.

Light-shadow, mysticism-sensuality, pain-pleasure? in the baroque world, the binomials, the dichotomies, apparently irreconcilable, always find a point of union, and many times they are confused with each other.and they are often confused with each other.

The different "Baroque".

Up to this point we have spoken mainly of the Baroque of the Catholic zone, that is, those who made the movement the vehicle of expression for the Counter-Reformation. The truth is that there is no single Baroque (as is the case with all styles), since in Northern Europe (as happens in all styles), since in northern Europe, mostly Lutheran, it developed in a completely different way. Let's take a look at it.

1. The Golden Age of the Netherlands

In the Dutch area, the Baroque is intimate. Lutheranism had led to greater introspection and individualism by affirming that only personal faith can save us.

Moreover, in Protestant countries there was no strong Church, as was the Church of Rome.The result was a production of canvasses and canvases of the Baroque period, which were produced in Spain and Italy. The result was a production of very intimate canvases with simple themes (never religious), which the bourgeois of the cities commissioned to decorate their apartments. It is in this context that we must place the exquisite Dutch interiors, masterfully executed by painters such as Vermeer or Jan Steen.

These works are far removed from the grandiloquent epics of the baroque (and universal) genius that was Rubens. Indeed, Rubens painted mostly for Spain, a country that from the beginning was at the forefront of the Counter-Reformation.. Therefore, much of the artist's work is imbued with that southern baroque air, bombastic and affected, which has nothing to do with the withdrawn Dutch or English expression.

2. France and classicism

France, a country halfway between Catholic and Protestant Europe, developed a much more classical Baroque than the Spanish. Especially during the reign of Louis XIV, that is, in the middle and end of the 17th century, French Baroque expression was restrained and balanced, highly inspired by classical models.. As an example, we can cite the works of Nicolas Poussin.

Baroque architecture

Architecture did not undergo such crucial transformations as in the case of painting or sculpture. The classical elements of construction (pilasters, tympanums, capitals, columns...) were maintained, especially in the case of France, with classicist examples such as the marvelous Palace of Versailles.

Of course, the Baroque introduced a series of modifications in architecture that moved away from the Greek and Roman canons, which were not always well received. and which were not always well received. For example, classical elements were given a new arrangement, and from them, the Baroque finds its own form of expression, original and unique.

But, we must repeat, typical baroque architecture is essentially classical. We will have to wait until the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries to find truly novel styles, such as the Spanish Churrigueresque style, unique in the history of art.

Bibliographical references:

• Checa, F. & Morán, J.M. (2001) El Barroco. Madrid: Istmo.
• Gombrich, E.H. (2002). La historia del arteMadrid: Debate.
• Langdon, H. Caravaggio (2010). Barcelona: Edhasa.