baroque art and architecture

8/3/2019 Baroque Art and Architecture

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Baroque Art and Architecture, the style dominating the art and

architecture of Europe and certain European colonies in the Americas

throughout the 1600s, and in some places, until 1750. A number of its

characteristics continue in the art and architecture of the first half of the

18th century, although this period is generally termed rococo and

corresponds roughly with King Louis XV of France. Manifestations ofbaroque art appear in virtually every country in Europe, with other

important centers in the Spanish and Portuguese settlements in the

Americas and in other outposts. The term baroque also defines periods

in literature and music.

The origins of the word baroque are not clear. It may have beenderived from the Portuguese barocco or the Spanish barueco to

indicate an irregularly shaped pearl. The word itself does not accurately

define or even approximate the meaning of the style to which it refers.

However, by the end of the 18th century baroque had entered theterminology of art criticism as an epithet leveled against 17th-centuryart, which many later critics regularly dismissed as too bizarre or

strange to merit serious study. Writers such as the 19th-century Swiss

cultural historian Jakob Burckhardt considered this style the decadent

end of the Renaissance; his student Heinrich Wlfflin, inPrinciples of

Art History (1915; translated 1932), first pointed out the fundamental

differences between the art of the 16th and 17th centuries, stating that

baroque is neither a rise nor a decline from classic, but a totally

different art.

Baroque art encompasses vast regional distinctions. It may seem

confusing, for example, to label two such different artists as Rembrandt

and Gianlorenzo Bernini as baroque; yet despite differences, they

shared certain baroque elements, such as a preoccupation with the

dramatic potential of light.

A.

Historical Background

Understanding the various forms of baroque art requires knowledge ofits historical context. The 17th century could be called the first modern

age. Human awareness of the world was continuously expanding. Many

scientific discoveries influenced art; Galileo's investigations of the

planets, for example, account for astronomical accuracy in many

paintings of the time. The assertion of the Polish astronomer

Copernicus that the planets did not revolve around the earth was written


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by 1530, published in 1543, and only fully accepted after 1600. The

realization that the earth was not at the center of the universe coincided

in art with the rise of pure landscape painting devoid of human figures.

The active trade and colonization policies of many European nations

accounted for numerous portrayals of places and peoples that were

exotic to Europeans.

Religion determined many aspects of baroque art. The Roman Catholic

church was a highly influential patron, and its Counter Reformation, a

movement to combat the spread of Protestantism, employed emotional,

realistic, and dramatic art as a means of propagating the faith. The

simplicity sought by Protestantism in countries such as the Netherlands

and northern Germany likewise explains the severity of the

architectural styles in those areas.

Political situations also influenced art. The absolute monarchies of

France and Spain prompted the creation of works that reflected in theirsize and splendor the majesty of their kings, Louis XIV and Philip IV.

B.

Baroque characteristics

Among the general characteristics of baroque art is a sense of

movement, energy, and tension (whether real or implied). Strong

contrasts of light and shadow enhance the dramatic effects of many

paintings and sculptures. Even baroque buildings, with their undulatingwalls and decorative surface elements, imply motion. Intense

spirituality is often present in works of baroque art; in the Roman

Catholic countries, for example, scenes of ecstasies, martyrdoms, or

miraculous apparitions are common. Infinite space is often suggested in

baroque paintings or sculptures; throughout the Renaissance and into

the baroque period, painters sought a grander sense of space and truer

depiction of perspective in their works. Realism is another integral

feature of baroque art; the figures in paintings are not types but

individuals with their own personalities. Artists of this time were

concerned with the inner workings of the mind and attempted to portray

the passions of the soul on the faces they painted and sculpted. Theintensity and immediacy of baroque art and its individualism and

detailobserved in such things as the convincing rendering of cloth

and skin texturesmake it one of the most compelling periods of

Western art.


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Baroque Music

I INTRODUCTION

Baroque Music, music of Europe from about 1600 to about 1750.

Critics applied the term baroque to the period long after it ended, as a

negative epithet. From the perspective of the classical style, which

followed the baroque and was characterized by symmetry and

balance, many critics found the music of the preceding period over-

exuberant and somewhat grotesque. Not until well into the 19th

century was the baroque age viewed as something other than a period

of artistic decadence following the Renaissance. (The term baroque,

which may derive from a Spanish or Portuguese word for an irregularly

shaped pearl, was also applied to art and architecture of this time

period. See also Baroque Art and Architecture.)

Innovations at the beginning of the baroque period led to the creation

of the new genre of opera, while at the end of the period, elements of

the classical style emerged in instrumental music and opera.

Outstanding composers of the baroque period include the Germans

Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel; the Italians

Claudio Monteverdi, Alessandro Scarlatti, Domenico Scarlatti, and

Antonio Vivaldi; Jean-Baptiste Lully and Jean-Philippe Rameau in

France; and Henry Purcell in England.

II CHARACTERISTICS OF BAROQUE MUSIC

Composers of the early baroque period placed a new emphasis on

melody. Chords accompanying the melody began to replace

counterpoint. Developments began in Italy and took place first in vocal

music, especially opera. Instrumental music started out primarily as an

accompaniment to voice. Over the course of the baroque era, it

achieved an independent identity.

A Baroque Melody

The beginning of the baroque period coincided with the beginning of

opera. As a result, many of the earliest developments of the period

took place in melody, especially in the sung music of opera.

Considerable contrast developed during the baroque period between

melody used in recitative (a kind of sung dialogue) and melody in


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songs and arias. Melody in recitative was declamatory with many

repeated notes, free rhythms that followed the text, and limited

range. Melody in songs or arias (vocal pieces for a single voice) had

more regular rhythms, more expressive and interesting shapes, and

great ornamentation. In short, recitative gave greater emphasis to

text, and song gave greater emphasis to music.

Melodies were often embellished with ornaments of different types,

but principally the trillthat is, rapid alternation between the main

note and the note just above it. Composers in all countries used

ornamentation, but it was especially favored by French composers.

Baroque melodies, both vocal and instrumental, made prominent use

of melodic sequencethat is, the repetition of a short motif at a

higher or lower pitch.

The principal melody in baroque music was supported by a writtenbass line, the basso continuo, played by a viol, cello, or bassoon. Other

parts were added between the melody and the bass by a keyboard

instrument, usually a harpsichord or organ. Only the melody and the

bass line were written out. Numbers placed over or under the bass

notes indicated the type of chord to be played, and the keyboard

accompanist added the appropriate notes.

Homophonymusic of a largely chordal style in which the parts move

in step with one anotherremained a feature of much baroque music,

both instrumental and vocal. However, polyphonymusic with severalmelodiesgrew in importance. A number of existing polyphonic

techniques were further developed during the 17th century. One of

the most important was imitative counterpoint, in which the same

theme is repeated by different voices or parts, either exactly or with

some changes. Imitative counterpoint was important in some of the

major compositional forms, such as the fugue, that arose during the

baroque period.

B Baroque Harmony

Harmony came to have central importance in baroque music. During

the 16th century the Renaissance harmonic system based on church

modes had begun to evolve into a more organized system of harmony

based on major and minor tonality. Toward the end of the 17th

century principles of harmonic progression within the major-minor

system were firmly in place; they were later described by Rameau in


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his Trait de lharmonie (Treatise on Harmony, 1722). One result of the

major-minor system was the idea of chordal progressionthe sense of

one chord leading to the next. A dominant chord, for example, creates

a pull toward the tonic chord. Other chords had different effects.

Major-minor harmony thus gave music a much stronger sense of

dynamism than did the system of church modes.

The new harmonic practices also added richness through the process

of modulationthe changing of the tonal center within a piece of

music. Modulation was a basic compositional tool during the baroque

period because it provided an important resource for harmonic

variety. Modulation also helped make longer compositions possible:

By contributing to a balance between the elements of repetition and

contrast, changes of key help sustain the listeners interest.

Within the use of modulation came the introduction of the system oftuning known as equal temperament (see Musical Tuning Systems).

The steps and half steps of the scale in the church modes were not, in

most cases, of precisely equal length. In early tuning systems this

unevenness caused problems when performers wanted to move from

one key to another. The problem was especially acute in the case of

keyboard instruments, with which tones and semitones are expected

to be of predetermined length. The equal-tempered, or well-

tempered, scale was devised for tuning instruments so that semitones

were the same size, allowing for a tuning that made each key sound

more or less precise, or in tune. Bach wrote The WellTemperedClavier(1722 and 1744), two sets of preludes and fugues in all major

and minor keys, partly to show the advantages of the new system of

tuning.

quick facts

-RKDQQ6HEDVWLDQ%DFK

German organist and composer

Birth March 21, 1685


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Death July 28, 1750

Place of

BirthEisenach, Thringen, Germany

PrincipalResidence Leipzig, Germany

Milestones1700-1703 Studied and worked as achorister at the Church of Saint Michael inLneburg

1703-1707 Held the position of churchorganist in Arnstadt

1705 Went to Lbeck to hear the famedorganist Dietrich Buxtehude

1707 Became organist at the Church ofSaint Blasius in Mlhausen

1708-1717 Worked as court organist forDuke Wilhelm Ernst in Weimar; became

court concertmaster in 1714

1711-1720 Composed the BrandenburgConcertos

1717-1723 Held the position of courtchapelmaster and director of chambermusic at Anhalt-Kthen

1722 Composed the Well-TemperedClavier

1723-1750 Held the positions ofchoirmaster and musical director of SaintThomas's Church and church school inLeipzig

1727 or 1729 Composed the St. Matthew

Passion1745?-1750 Composed the Art of theFugue

1747?-1749 Assembled the Mass in B

Minor

Did You Bach was imprisoned for a month in 1717


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Know by Duke Wilhelm, who wanted to preventhim from accepting a position at Prince

Leopold's court in Anhalt-Kthen.

Bach had 7 children with his first wife,

and 13 children with his second wife.

The Bach family produced more than 50noted musicians over several generations.

Bach became sight-impaired during the

last year of his life.

Microsoft Encarta 2009. 1993-2008 MicrosoftCorporation. All rights reserved.

quick facts

*HRUJH)ULGHULF+DQGHO

German-born English composer of the baroque era

Birth February 23, 1685

Death April 14, 1759

Place ofBirth

Halle, Germany

Principal

ResidenceEngland

Milestones1705 Saw his first opera, Almira,performed in Hamburg

1706-1710 Lived in Italy, where hecomposed the opera Agrippina, first

performed in 1709

1710 Became court composer for theelector of Hannover

1711 Produced the opera Rinaldo inLondon

1717 Produced Water Music for King

George I of England

1717-1718 Composed the 11 ChandosAnthems while employed by the Duke of

Chandos


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1719-1728 Worked as musical director ofthe Royal Academy of Music in London,

where he produced several operas,including Radamisto (1720) and

Tamerlano (1724)1729 With Swiss opera manager J. J.Heidegger, founded a new musicacademy where he produced several

operas, including Orlando (1733)

1742 Produced the oratorio Messiah inDublin

1749 Produced Music for the RoyalFireworks to celebrate the end of the War

of Austrian Succession

Did YouKnow

Handel's salary was doubled when hisemployer, the elector of Hannover, wascrowned King George I of England in

1714.

Handel lost his eyesight during the lastfew years of his life.

Handel's father was 63 years old whenHandel was born.

Born Georg Friedrich Hndel, Handel

anglicized the spelling of his name afterbecoming a British citizen in 1727.

Handel never married.

Microsoft Encarta 2009. 1993-2008 MicrosoftCorporation. All rights reserved.

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), Italian musician, the most influentialcomposer and violinist of his age. A prolific composer, he wrote nearly

500 concertos and established the concerto form for the baroque period.

Vivaldis best-known concertos are The Four Seasons (1725).

Vivaldi was born in Venice and trained by his father, a violinist at Saint

Marks Cathedral. Ordained a priest in 1703, Vivaldi began teaching

that year at the Ospedale della Piet, a conservatory that trained


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musically talented orphaned girls. He remained associated with the

Piet until 1740, at first as a teacher of violin and composition and from

1716 on as music director, although he traveled widely and was often

absent. In addition to training the students, he composed concertos and

oratorios for weekly concerts, and established an international

reputation. From 1713 on, Vivaldi was active as an opera composer andproducer in Venice and traveled to Rome, Mantua, and elsewhere to

oversee performances of his operas. In 1740 he traveled to Vienna,

Austria. He died in poverty in Vienna the following year.

Microsoft Encarta 2009. 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation.

All rights reserved.

Renaissance, series of literary and cultural movements in the 14th,

15th, and 16th centuries. These movements began in Italy and

eventually expanded into Germany, France, England, and other parts of

Europe. Participants studied the great civilizations of ancient Greeceand Rome and came to the conclusion that their own cultural

achievements rivaled those of antiquity. Their thinking was also

influenced by the concept of humanism, which emphasizes the worth of

the individual. Renaissance humanists believed it was possible to

improve human society through classical education. This educationrelied on teachings from ancient texts and emphasized a range of

disciplines, including poetry, history, rhetoric (rules for writing

influential prose or speeches), and moral philosophy.

SidebarsHISTORICAL ESSAYS

Renaissance Consumerism

Encarta Historical Essays reflect the knowledge and insight of leading

historians. This collection of essays is assembled to support the

National Standards for World History. In this essay, Lisa Jardine of the

University of London examines the blossoming of art and learning in

Europe known as the Renaissance within the context of a consumerrevolution. The entrepreneurial spirit, she argues, is as significant as

Europes admiration of classical Greece and Rome.

open sidebar

The word renaissance means rebirth. The idea of rebirth originated inthe belief that Europeans had rediscovered the superiority of Greek and

Roman culture after many centuries of what they considered

intellectual and cultural decline. The preceding era, which began with

the collapse of the Roman Empire around the 5th century, became


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known as the Middle Ages to indicate its position between the classical

and modern world.

Scholars now recognize that there was considerable cultural activity

during the Middle Ages, as well as some interest in classical literature.

A number of characteristics of Renaissance art and society had theirorigins in the Middle Ages. Many scholars claim that much of the

cultural dynamism of the Renaissance also had its roots in medieval

times and that changes were progressive rather than abrupt.

Nevertheless, the Renaissance represents a change in focus and

emphasis from the Middle Ages, with enough unique qualities to justify

considering it as a separate period of history.

This article begins with a brief overview of the characteristics of the

Renaissance and then discusses conflicting views on how to define and

interpret the Renaissance. This analysis is followed by a discussion of

the economic, social, and political changes that began in the 14thcentury and contributed to the development of the Renaissance. The

ideas of the Renaissance, particularly of humanism, are then explored,

and their impacts on established religion, on science, and on the arts are

examined.

Microsoft Encarta 2009. 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation.

All rights reserved.

Renaissance, series of literary and cultural movements in the 14th,15th, and 16th centuries. These movements began in Italy and

eventually expanded into Germany, France, England, and other parts of

Europe. Participants studied the great civilizations of ancient Greece

and Rome and came to the conclusion that their own cultural

achievements rivaled those of antiquity. Their thinking was also

influenced by the concept of humanism, which emphasizes the worth of

the individual. Renaissance humanists believed it was possible to

improve human society through classical education. This education

relied on teachings from ancient texts and emphasized a range of

disciplines, including poetry, history, rhetoric (rules for writinginfluential prose or speeches), and moral philosophy.

Sidebars

HISTORICAL ESSAYS

Renaissance Consumerism

Encarta Historical Essays reflect the knowledge and insight of leading


11/11

historians. This collection of essays is assembled to support the

National Standards for World History. In this essay, Lisa Jardine of the

University of London examines the blossoming of art and learning in

Europe known as the Renaissance within the context of a consumer

revolution. The entrepreneurial spirit, she argues, is as significant as

Europes admiration of classical Greece and Rome.open sidebar

The word renaissance means rebirth. The idea of rebirth originated in

the belief that Europeans had rediscovered the superiority of Greek andRoman culture after many centuries of what they considered

intellectual and cultural decline. The preceding era, which began with

the collapse of the Roman Empire around the 5th century, became

known as the Middle Ages to indicate its position between the classical

and modern world.

Scholars now recognize that there was considerable cultural activity

during the Middle Ages, as well as some interest in classical literature.

A number of characteristics of Renaissance art and society had their

origins in the Middle Ages. Many scholars claim that much of the

cultural dynamism of the Renaissance also had its roots in medieval

times and that changes were progressive rather than abrupt.

Nevertheless, the Renaissance represents a change in focus and

emphasis from the Middle Ages, with enough unique qualities to justify

considering it as a separate period of history.

This article begins with a brief overview of the characteristics of theRenaissance and then discusses conflicting views on how to define and

interpret the Renaissance. This analysis is followed by a discussion of

the economic, social, and political changes that began in the 14th

century and contributed to the development of the Renaissance. The

ideas of the Renaissance, particularly of humanism, are then explored,

and their impacts on established religion, on science, and on the arts are

examined.

baroque art and architecture

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