Art (Baroque art.), a style of European art and architecture of the 17th and 18th centuries. At different times, the term “Baroque” was given different meanings—“bizarre,” “strange,” “prone to excess.” At first it had an offensive connotation, implying absurdity, absurdity (perhaps it goes back to the Portuguese word meaning an ugly pearl). Currently, it is used in art historical works to define the style that dominated European art between Mannerism and Rococo, that is, from approximately 1600 to the beginning of the 18th century. From Baroque mannerism, art inherited dynamism and deep emotionality, and from the Renaissance - solidity and splendor: the features of both styles harmoniously merged into one single whole.

Baroque. (Clementinum Library, Prague, Czech Republic).

The most characteristic features - flashy floridity and dynamism - corresponded to the self-confidence and aplomb of the newly powerful Roman Catholic Church. Outside of Italy, the Baroque style took its deepest roots in Catholic countries, and, for example, in Britain its influence was insignificant. At the origins of the tradition of Baroque art in painting are two great Italian artists - Caravaggio and Annibale Carracci, who created the most significant works in the last decade of the 16th century - the first decade of the 17th century.

Italian barocco - strange, whimsical), one of the main stylistic trends in the art of Europe and America. XVI - mid. XVIII centuries B. is characterized by contrast, tension, dynamism of images, affectation, the desire for grandeur and splendor, for combining reality and illusion, for the fusion of arts (city and palace and park ensembles, opera, religious music, oratorio); at the same time, there is a tendency towards autonomy of individual genres (concerto grosso, sonata, suite in instrumental music). Associated with the noble-church culture of mature absolutism, gravitates towards the solemn “grand style”. Baroque is characterized by contrast, tension, dynamism of images, the desire for grandeur and splendor, for the combination of reality and illusion. It has become widespread in architecture, sculpture and painting.

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BAROQUE

Italian - whimsical, strange) - a style in European art of the late 16th - mid-18th centuries. Baroque established itself in Europe during the era of the formation of nation states. Baroque art, closely associated with aristocratic circles and the church, was intended to glorify and propagate their power.

Baroque art is characterized by grandiosity and pomp, a predilection for effects and spectacle, for the contrast of scales, materials, light and shadow, that is, a predilection for external effects, pomp, avoidance of pressing problems, and a penchant for fantasy.

First of all, Baroque manifested itself in architecture. The buildings became elaborate and lush. The ceremonial interiors took on various forms, the whimsicality of which was emphasized by sculpture, modeling, and ornament.

Baroque also developed in other forms of art - in painting, poetry, drama and especially in music.

The Baroque era gave the world outstanding writers (T. Tasso, P. Calderon), artists (Caravaggio, Correggio, P. Rubens, A. van Dyck), architects (L. Bernini, F. Barromini), musicians (J. S. Bach , G. Handel, A. Vivaldi), who created truly brilliant creations. Excellent definition

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Baroque is one of the significant styles in the cultural life of Europe. It achieved its greatest popularity in countries such as Germany, Spain, Russia, and France. Italy is considered its homeland. The Baroque era spans about two centuries - from the late 16th to the mid-18th century.

The distinctive features of this style include pomposity, solemnity and pomp. Moreover, Baroque embraces not only artistic creativity, literature and painting, but also the way of thinking of a person, his existence, and also, to some extent, science.

The works of this time are expressive and expressive, they are characterized by sophistication of forms, the creation of illusory space, as well as a bizarre play of shadow and light.

The Baroque era gave birth to science. It was at this time that biology, anatomy, physics and chemistry, and other disciplines began to develop. Previously, their study was cruelly punished by church ministers.

Wars, epidemics of various diseases, such as plague and smallpox, led to the fact that people felt unprotected and confused. His future was uncertain. More and more minds were engulfed by various superstitions and fears. At the same time, the church splits into two religious camps - Protestants and Catholics, which also gives rise to many squabbles and battles.

All this leads to a new understanding of the Lord as the Creator of the universe. God was considered only as the creator of daily things, while man controlled the living and inanimate.

The Baroque era is also characterized by active colonization - English settlements are formed in the Old and New Worlds.

The architecture of that time was rich in colonnades and an abundance of various decorations on the facades and in the interior. Multi-tiered domes of a complex, multi-level structure also predominate. The most famous architects of that time include Michelangelo Buonarroti, Carlo Maderna, Nikolai Sultanov.

The painting of this era is dominated by religious and mythological motifs, as well as ceremonial portraits. Quite often the paintings depicted the Madonna surrounded by angels. Most of the Baroque era - Michelangelo Merisi, Iasento Rigo, Peter Paul Rubens.

It was at this time that such things as opera and fugue were born. The music becomes more expressive. Composers of the Baroque era - Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, Giovanni Gabrieli. As you can see, many outstanding personalities worked at that time.

The Baroque era is one of the most significant in the history of human development. It was at this time that new styles emerged in literature, music, painting, and architecture. New views on religion and man are being formed. New directions in science are emerging. Despite some pomposity, this period gave world culture many cultural monuments, which are highly valued in our time. The names of masters and artists of the Baroque era still resound throughout the world.

The logical continuation of this style was Rococo, which was formed in the first half of the 18th century. He managed to maintain his position until the end of the 18th century.

History of the study

One of the first monographs devoted to the Baroque was Wölfflin’s book “Renaissance and Baroque” (German: Renaissance und Barock, 1888). Baroque occupied the period between the Renaissance and classicism, and in its later version it was called rococo. Wölfflin calls picturesqueness and passion the characteristic features of Baroque. Dvorak distinguished Mannerism from the early Baroque. Subsequently, Panofsky outlined a tendency to see the Baroque not as an antithesis, but as a continuation of the Renaissance.

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One controversial theory suggests that all these European words come from Latin bis-roca, twisted stone. Another theory - from Latin verruca, steep high place, defect in the gemstone.

In different contexts, the word baroque could mean “pretentiousness”, “unnaturalness”, “insincerity”, “eliteness”, “deformation”, “exaggerated emotionality”. All these connotations of the word baroque in most cases were not perceived as negative.

Finally, another theory suggests that this word in all the languages ​​mentioned is parodic from a linguistic point of view, and its word formation can be explained by its meaning: unusual, unnatural, ambiguous and deceptive.

The ambiguity of the Baroque style is explained by its origin. According to some researchers, it was borrowed from the architecture of the Seljuk Turks.

Baroque features

Baroque is characterized by contrast, tension, dynamic images, affectation, the desire for grandeur and splendor, for combining reality and illusion, for the fusion of arts (city and palace and park ensembles, opera, religious music, oratorio); at the same time - a tendency towards autonomy of individual genres (concerto grosso, sonata, suite in instrumental music). The ideological foundations of the style developed as a result of the shock that the Reformation and the teachings of Copernicus became for the 16th century. The idea of ​​the world, established in antiquity, as a rational and constant unity, as well as the Renaissance idea of ​​man as the most intelligent being, changed. As Pascal put it, man began to recognize himself as “something in between everything and nothing,” “one who captures only the appearance of phenomena, but is unable to understand either their beginning or their end.”

Baroque era

The Baroque era generates a huge amount of time for urban residents from the upper and middle classes for the sake of entertainment: instead of pilgrimages - the promenade (walks in the park); instead of knightly tournaments - "carousels" (horse rides) and card games; instead of mystery plays there is a theater and a masquerade ball. You can also add the appearance of swings and “fire fun” (fireworks). In the interiors, portraits and landscapes took the place of icons, and music turned from spiritual into a pleasant play of sound.

The Baroque era rejects traditions and authorities as superstitions and prejudices. Everything that is “clearly and distinctly” thought or has a mathematical expression is true, says the philosopher Descartes. Therefore, Baroque is also the century of Reason and Enlightenment. It is no coincidence that the word “baroque” is sometimes raised to designate one of the types of inferences in medieval logic - to baroco. The first European park appears in the Palace of Versailles, where the idea of ​​a forest is expressed extremely mathematically: linden alleys and canals seem to be drawn with a ruler, and the trees are trimmed in the manner of stereometric figures. In the armies of the Baroque era, which first received uniforms, much attention is paid to “drill” - the geometric correctness of formations on the parade ground.

Baroque Man

Baroque man rejects naturalness, which is identified with savagery and ignorance. (In the era of romanticism, naturalness will be viewed from a different angle and will become one of the main virtues.) The Baroque woman values ​​​​pale skin, she wears an elaborate hairstyle, a corset and an artificially widened skirt on a frame made of whalebone. She's wearing heels.

And the gentleman becomes the ideal man in the Baroque era - from English. gentle: “soft”, “gentle”, “calm”. He prefers to shave his mustache and beard, wear perfume and wear powdered wigs. What is the use of force if people now kill by pulling the trigger of a musket? In the Baroque era, naturalness is synonymous with brutality, savagery, vulgarity and extravagance. For the philosopher Hobbes, the state of nature is a state characterized by anarchy and the war of all against all.

Baroque is characterized by the idea of ​​ennobling nature on the basis of reason. The need for something (“need”) should not be tolerated, but “it is appropriate to offer it in pleasant and polite words” (Honest Mirror of Youth, 1717). According to the philosopher Spinoza, drives no longer constitute the content of sin, but “the very essence of man.” Therefore, appetite is formalized in refined table etiquette (it was in the Baroque era that forks and napkins appeared); a love interest - in a polite flirtation, a quarrel - in a sophisticated duel.

The Baroque is characterized by the idea of ​​a sleeping god - deism. God is conceived not as a Savior, but as a Great Architect who created the world just as a watchmaker creates a mechanism. Hence such a characteristic of the baroque worldview as mechanism. The law of conservation of energy, the absoluteness of space and time are guaranteed by the word of God. However, having created the world, God rested from his labors and does not interfere in any way in the affairs of the Universe. It is useless to pray to such a God - you can only learn from Him. Therefore, the true guardians of the Enlightenment are not prophets and priests, but natural scientists. Isaac Newton discovers the law of universal gravitation and writes the fundamental work “Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy” (), and Carl von Linnaeus systematizes biology (“System of Nature”,). Academies of Sciences and scientific societies are being established throughout European capitals.

The diversity of perception increases the level of consciousness - something like this says the philosopher Leibniz. Galileo for the first time points a telescope to the stars and proves the rotation of the Earth around the Sun (), and Leeuwenhoek discovers tiny living organisms under a microscope (). Huge sailing ships plow the expanses of the world's oceans, erasing white spots on geographical maps of the world. Travelers and adventurers became the literary symbols of the era: Robinson Crusoe, ship's doctor Gulliver and Baron Munchausen.

“In the Baroque era, the formation of a fundamentally new, different from medieval, allegorical thinking took place. A viewer capable of understanding the language of the emblem has been formed. Allegory has become the norm of artistic vocabulary in all types of plastic and performing arts, including such synthetic forms as festivals.”

Baroque in painting

The Baroque style in painting is characterized by dynamism of compositions, “flatness” and splendor of forms, aristocracy and originality of subjects. The most characteristic features of Baroque are flashy floridity and dynamism; a striking example is the work of Rubens and Caravaggio.

Michelangelo Merisi (1571-1610), who was nicknamed Caravaggio after his birthplace near Milan, is considered the most significant master among Italian artists who created at the end of the 16th century. new style in painting. His paintings, painted on religious subjects, resemble realistic scenes of the author’s contemporary life, creating a contrast between late antiquity and modern times. The heroes are depicted in twilight, from which rays of light snatch out the expressive gestures of the characters, contrastingly outlining their characteristics. Followers and imitators of Caravaggio, who were initially called Caravaggists, and the movement itself Caravaggism, such as Annibale Carracci (1560-1609) or Guido Reni (1575-1642), adopted the riot of feelings and characteristic manner of Caravaggio, as well as his naturalism in depicting people and events.

Architecture

In Italian architecture, the most prominent representative of Baroque art was Carlo Maderna (1556-1629), who broke with Mannerism and created his own style. His main creation is the facade of the Roman church of Santa Susanna (1603). The main figure in the development of Baroque sculpture was Lorenzo Bernini, whose first masterpieces executed in the new style date back to approximately 1620. Bernini is also an architect. He owns the design of the square of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and the interiors, as well as other buildings. Significant contributions were made by Carlo Fontana, Carlo Rainaldi, Guarino Guarini, Baldassare Longhena, Luigi Vanvitelli, Pietro da Cortona. In Sicily, after a major earthquake in 1693, a new late Baroque style appeared - Sicilian Baroque. Light acts as a fundamentally important element of Baroque space, entering churches through the naves.

The quintessence of Baroque, an impressive fusion of painting, sculpture and architecture, is considered the Cornaro Chapel in the Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria (-1652).

The Baroque style became widespread in Spain, Germany, Belgium (then Flanders), the Netherlands, Russia, France, and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Spanish Baroque, or locally Churrigueresco (in honor of the architect Churriguera), which also spread to Latin America. Its most popular monument is the Cathedral of St. James, which is also one of the most revered churches in Spain. In Latin America, Baroque mixed with local architectural traditions; this is its most elaborate version, and they call it ultra-baroque.

Regarding the architecture of France in the 17th century. Sometimes the term “baroque classicism” is used. The Palace of Versailles along with its regular park, the Luxembourg Palace, the building of the French Academy in Paris and other works are considered to be of this classicist-baroque style. They do have some classicist features. A characteristic feature of the Baroque style is the regular style in landscape art, an example of which is the Park of Versailles.

In Germany, the outstanding Baroque monument is the New Palace in Sanssouci (authors - I. G. Bühring (German)Russian, H. L. Manter) and the Summer Palace in the same place (G. W. von Knobelsdorff).

Baroque in sculpture

Sculpture is an integral part of the Baroque style. The greatest sculptor and recognized architect of the 17th century was the Italian Lorenzo Bernini (-). Among his most famous sculptures are the mythological scenes of the abduction of Proserpina by the god of the underworld Pluto and the miraculous transformation into a tree of the nymph Daphne, pursued by the god of light Apollo, as well as the altar group “The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa” in one of the Roman churches. The last of them, with its clouds carved from marble and the characters' clothes fluttering in the wind, with theatrically exaggerated feelings, very accurately expresses the aspirations of the sculptors of this era.

In Spain, during the Baroque era, wooden sculptures predominated; for greater verisimilitude, they were made with glass eyes and even a crystal tear; real clothes were often put on the statue. The leading master was Pedro de Mena, who worked in Granada and Malaga.

Baroque in literature

Writers and poets in the Baroque era perceived the real world as an illusion and a dream. Realistic descriptions were often combined with their allegorical depiction. Symbols, metaphors, theatrical techniques, graphic images (lines of poetry form a picture), saturation with rhetorical figures, antitheses, parallelisms, gradations, oxymorons are widely used. There is a burlesque-satirical attitude towards reality. Baroque literature is characterized by a desire for diversity, a summation of knowledge about the world, inclusiveness, encyclopedicism, which sometimes turns into chaos and collecting curiosities, a desire to study existence in its contrasts (spirit and flesh, darkness and light, time and eternity). Baroque ethics is marked by a craving for the symbolism of the night, the theme of frailty and impermanence, life as a dream (F. de Quevedo, P. Calderon). Calderon's play “Life is a Dream” is famous. Genres such as the gallant-heroic novel (J. de Scudéry, M. de Scudéry), the everyday and satirical novel (Furetière, C. Sorel, P. Scarron) are also developing. Within the framework of the Baroque style, its varieties and directions are born: Marinism (Italy), Gongorism (Culteranism) and Conceptism (Spain), Euphuism and the Metaphysical School (England), Precision Literature (France), Macaronism, that is, mixed Polish-Latin versification (Poland ).

The action of the novels is often transferred to the fictional world of antiquity, to Greece, court gentlemen and ladies are depicted as shepherdesses and shepherdesses, which is called pastoral (Honoré d'Urfe, “Astraea”). Pretentiousness and the use of complex metaphors flourish in poetry. Common forms include sonnet, rondo, concetti (a short poem expressing some witty thought), and madrigals.

In the West, an outstanding representative in the field of the novel is G. Grimmelshausen (novel “Simplicissimus”), in the field of drama - P. Calderon (Spain). In poetry, V. Voiture (France), D. Marino (Italy), Don Luis de Gongora y Argote (Spain), D. Donne (England) became famous. In France during this period, “precious literature” flourished. It was then cultivated mainly in the salon of Madame de Rambouillet, one of the aristocratic salons in Paris, the most fashionable and famous. In Spain, the Baroque movement in literature was called “Gongorism” after the name of its most prominent representative (see above).

Baroque in Polish literature is represented by the poetry of the heroic and epic style of Zbigniew Morsztyn, Wacław Potocki, Vespasian Kochowski (the themes of their poetry are largely determined by the eventful military biography of all three), the courtier (the so-called macaronic style, popular at the end of the 17th century) Jan Andrzej Morsztyn, the philosophical Stanisław Herakliusz Lubomirski; in prose - mainly memoir literature (the most significant work is “Memoirs” by Jan Chrysostom Pasek).

In Russia, Baroque literature includes S. Polotsky, F. Prokopovich.

In German literature, the traditions of the Baroque style are still supported by members of the Blumenorden literary community. They gather in the summer for literary festivals in the Irrhein grove near Nuremberg. The society was founded in 1646 by Georg Philipp Harsdörffer with the aim of restoring and maintaining the German language, which had been badly damaged during the Thirty Years' War.

Theoretically, Baroque poetics was developed in the treatises “Wit, or the Art of the Subtle Mind” by Baltasar Gracian (1648) and “Aristotle’s Spyglass” by Emanuele Tesauro (1655).

Baroque music

Baroque music appeared at the end of the Renaissance and preceded the music of the Classical era. Representatives - Vivaldi, Bach, Handel. The leading genres are cantata, oratorio, and opera. Characteristic is the opposition of choir and soloists, voices and instruments, a combination of large-scale forms, a tendency towards the synthesis of art with a simultaneous tendency to separate music from words (the emergence of instrumental genres).

Baroque fashion

First, when he was still a child (he was crowned at the age of 5), short jackets called brassiere, richly decorated with lace. Then pants came into fashion, rengraves, similar to a skirt, wide, also richly decorated with lace, which lasted a long time. Later appeared justocor(from French this can be translated: “accurately according to the body”). This is a type of caftan, knee-length, in this era it was worn buttoned up, with a belt worn over it. Worn under a caftan

Baroque (Italian barocco - “bizarre”, “strange”, “prone to excess”, port. perola barroca - “pearl of irregular shape” - a characteristic of European culture of the 17th-18th centuries.

Baroque era

The Baroque era gives rise to a huge amount of time for entertainment: instead of pilgrimages - the promenade (walks in the park); instead of knightly tournaments - “carousels” (horse rides) and card games; instead of mystery plays there is a theater and a masquerade ball. You can also add the appearance of swings and “fire fun” (fireworks). In the interiors, portraits and landscapes took the place of icons, and music turned from spiritual into a pleasant play of sound.

Baroque features

Baroque is characterized by contrast, tension, dynamic images, affectation, the desire for grandeur and splendor, for combining reality and illusion, for the fusion of arts (city and palace and park ensembles, opera, religious music, oratorio); at the same time - a tendency towards autonomy of individual genres (concerto grosso, sonata, suite in instrumental music).

Baroque Man

Baroque man rejects naturalness, which is identified with savagery, unceremoniousness, tyranny, brutality and ignorance. The Baroque woman values ​​her pale skin and wears an unnatural, frilly hairstyle, a corset and an artificially widened skirt with a whalebone frame. She's wearing heels.

And the ideal man in the Baroque era becomes a cavalier, a gentleman - from the English. gentle: “soft”, “gentle”, “calm”. He prefers to shave his mustache and beard, wear perfume and wear powdered wigs. What is the use of force if now one kills by pressing the trigger of a musket.

Galileo first points a telescope to the stars and proves the rotation of the Earth around the Sun (1611), and Leeuwenhoek discovers tiny living organisms under a microscope (1675). Huge sailing ships plow the expanses of the world's oceans, erasing white spots on geographical maps of the world. Travelers and adventurers became the literary symbols of the era.

Baroque in sculpture

Sculpture is an integral part of the Baroque style. The greatest sculptor and recognized architect of the 17th century was an Italian Lorenzo Bernini(1598-1680). Among his most famous sculptures are the mythological scenes of the abduction of Proserpina by the god of the underworld Pluto and the miraculous transformation of the nymph Daphne into a tree, pursued by the god of light Apollo, as well as an altar group "The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa" in one of the Roman churches. The last of them, with its clouds carved from marble and the characters' clothes fluttering in the wind, with theatrically exaggerated feelings, very accurately expresses the aspirations of the sculptors of this era.

In Spain, during the Baroque era, wooden sculptures prevailed; for greater verisimilitude, they were made with glass eyes and even a crystal tear; real clothes were often put on the statue.

Baroque in architecture

For Baroque architecture ( L. Bernini, F. Borromini in Italy, B. F. Rastrell and in Russia, Jan Christoph Glaubitz in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth) are characterized by spatial scope, unity, and fluidity of complex, usually curvilinear forms. Often there are large-scale colonnades, an abundance of sculpture on the facades and in the interiors, volutes, a large number of braces, arched facades with bracing in the middle, rusticated columns and pilasters. Domes take on complex shapes, often multi-tiered, like those of St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome. Characteristic Baroque details - telamon (Atlas), caryatid, mascaron.

Baroque in the interior

The Baroque style is characterized by ostentatious luxury, although it retains such an important feature of the classical style as symmetry.

Wall painting (one of the types of monumental painting) has been used in decorating European interiors since early Christian times. It became most widespread during the Baroque era. The interiors used a lot of color and large, richly decorated details: a ceiling decorated with frescoes, marble walls and parts of the decor, gilding. Color contrasts were typical - for example, a marble floor decorated with tiles in a checkerboard pattern. Extensive gilded decorations were a characteristic feature of this style.

Furniture was a piece of art, and was intended almost exclusively for interior decoration. Chairs, sofas and armchairs were upholstered in expensive, richly colored fabric. Huge beds with canopies and flowing bedspreads and giant wardrobes were widespread. The mirrors were decorated with sculptures and stucco with floral patterns. Southern walnut and Ceylon ebony were often used as furniture materials.

The Baroque style is not suitable for small spaces, since massive furniture and decorations take up a large amount of space.

Baroque fashion

The fashion of the Baroque era corresponds in France to the period of the reign of Louis XIV, the second half of the 17th century. This is the time of absolutism. Strict etiquette and complex ceremonies reigned at court. The costume was subject to etiquette. France was a trendsetter in Europe, so other countries quickly adopted French fashion. This was the century when a general fashion was established in Europe, and national characteristics faded into the background or were preserved in folk peasant costume. Before Peter I, European costumes were also worn by some aristocrats in Russia, although not everywhere.

The costume was characterized by stiffness, splendor, and an abundance of decorations. The ideal man was Louis XIV, the “Sun King,” a skilled horseman, dancer, and marksman. He was short, so he wore high heels.

Baroque in painting

The Baroque style in painting is characterized by dynamism of compositions, “flatness” and splendor of forms, aristocracy and originality of subjects. The most characteristic features of Baroque are flashy floridity and dynamism; a striking example is creativity Rubens And Caravaggio.

Michelangelo Merisi (1571-1610), who was nicknamed after his birthplace near Milan Caravaggio, is considered the most significant master among Italian artists who created at the end of the 16th century. new style in painting. His paintings, painted on religious subjects, resemble realistic scenes of the author’s contemporary life, creating a contrast between late antiquity and modern times. The heroes are depicted in twilight, from which rays of light snatch out the expressive gestures of the characters, contrastingly outlining their characteristics. Followers and imitators of Caravaggio, who were initially called Caravaggists, and the movement itself was called Caravaggism, such as Annibale Carracci(1560-1609) or Guido Reni(1575-1642), adopted the riot of feelings and characteristic manner of Caravaggio, as well as his naturalism in depicting people and events.