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Art & Art History vocabulary · Movements & Periods

Baroque

Meaning in art & art history, with examples

/bəˈroʊk/nounCore term

In art & art history, Baroque means: The style of European art and architecture from about 1600 to 1750, known for drama, movement, strong light and emotion, as in the work of Caravaggio, Rubens and Bernini.

In Turkish: Barok

How it is used

Used as a noun (the Baroque) and an adjective (Baroque painting, a Baroque church). Typical descriptions: theatrical, dynamic, diagonal compositions, dramatic lighting, rich decoration.

Example sentences

  1. Bernini's sculptures are full of Baroque movement; the marble almost seems to breathe.

  2. This course covers Baroque art in Italy, Spain and the Netherlands.

Common collocations

  • Baroque art
  • Baroque painting
  • High Baroque
  • Baroque church
  • Ottoman Baroque
  • RenaissanceThe period in European history, roughly from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century, when art and learning were renewed by a strong interest in ancient Greek and Roman culture.
  • chiaroscuroThe use of strong contrasts between light and dark to make figures look three-dimensional and to create drama; the word is Italian for ‘light-dark’.
  • NeoclassicismA movement from about 1750 to 1830 that revived the calm order, clear lines and moral themes of ancient Greek and Roman art, partly inspired by the excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum.
  • marbleA hard stone, often white or with coloured veins, that can be carved and polished; it has been used for sculpture and buildings since ancient times.

More terms: Movements & Periods

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