Baroque era. Brief description

Baroque (Italian barocco - “bizarre”, “strange”, “prone to excess”) is a style in painting, architecture, literature and music of the 17th-18th centuries.

The heyday of the Baroque is defined by two centuries - between the end of the 16th and the end of the 18th centuries. Baroque (which literally means bizarre, strange in Italian) was born in Italy and soon covered most of the countries of Europe and America (mainly Central and South). The main features of this style were tension, gigantism and emotional intensity. Complex geometry, unexpected lighting effects, a variety of complex patterns and lush decoration, where concave spaces unexpectedly give way to convex ones, replaced the calmer era of harmony of the late Renaissance. They were consistently introduced into architecture by the Italians Michelangelo Buonarotti (in his late period) and Vignola. Both worked on the buildings of the Vatican, which is almost the main symbol of this architectural style.

Interior design in the Baroque style uses sculpture, carved ornaments, paintings, mirrors, massive columns and stairs. The materials used are travertine, dolomite, marble, and basalt. Contrasts of scale, play of light and shadow, intense deep colors (golden, pink, blue) - all this creates a feeling of illusoryness and constant variability of the surrounding world. From the general series one can single out the most prominent architects of that time. In Italy, this is Francesco Borromini (1599-1677), who began his career as a mason in St. Peter's Basilica, but later became an assistant to Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680), Michelangelo Buonarotti, and Pietro da Cortona. In France - Francois Mansart (1598-1666) and Louis Levo (1612-1648), who worked for Louis XIV, in Austria - Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach and his son (authors of the main Viennese palace of Schönbrunn and Karlskirche). In Austria, this is Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach and his son (they are the authors of the main Viennese palace of Schönbrunn and Karlskirche), in the Czech Republic - Francesco Caratti (author of the Cherninsky Palace), in Russia - Dmitry Vasilyevich Ukhtomsky (1719-1774). Many examples of Baroque in the territory of present-day Poland and Ukraine (then Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth). Some of them were built by Italian architects on the model of the Roman church of Il Gesu.

Baroque architecture gave rise to new progressive trends in the creation of urban and landscape ensembles. Buildings become one with the surrounding areas. The surrounding landscape is decorated with groups of fountains with majestic sculptures; theater performances under open air. The style itself forces the creation of spectacular spectacles, an atmosphere on the verge of illusion and reality.

Baroque is a culture of excess. The exponents of this excess are the fold and curl. If the smooth surface of the wall suddenly begins to rise like a wave, this is baroque. Baroque (following one of its branches - mannerism) developed many new types of buildings. This is a majestic city palace, a baroque monastery, a country villa with a palace and a baroque garden.

Baroque is a materialized attraction to the unusual, surprising, amazing. From this style we got landscape architecture, gardens and parks with giant sculptures and grotesque masks, open-air theaters, unusual buildings with exotic details. Baroque collects the unusual and wonderful. Engravings, minerals, strange plants. Separate rooms are created for the first museum collections.

Special mention needs to be made about the gardens. Baroque buildings tend to include the square in front of the palace or the garden in front of the monastery. The building exists together with the surrounding areas, and not on its own.

It was common for a Baroque man (and an architect as well) to ask questions about the structure of the world, and this answer was often not in the divine spheres. Baroque architects and sculptors now readily confuse divine ecstasy with human ecstasy. In the famous sculpture “The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa” by Bernini, the saint has such a languid expression on her face that even her contemporaries laughed at him.

In Russia, the heyday of the Baroque style occurred in the second half of the 18th century, while in Europe a transition to classicism was already taking place. Like other styles, Baroque in Russia acquired a certain originality, in connection with this the term “Russian Baroque” appeared and differed from the European one in the simpler structure of architectural compositions. At the same time, Russian architects actively used bright colors and color contrasts in painting, including gilding. As finishing materials for further painting, preference is given to plaster and gypsum. Therefore, colors become brighter and more saturated: red, blue, yellow in combination with white. Modeling in the form of an ornament in the traditional Russian style is used as stucco decoration. The gilding technique is used to decorate various interior parts, as well as roofing coverings.

At the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries, Russian baroque was divided into many movements: “Moscow” baroque, “Naryshkin” baroque, followed by “Stroganov” and “Golitsyn”. Such names arose thanks to the family line of people under whose patronage the most significant objects of the era were built. There are even “Ural Baroque” and “Siberian Baroque”.

The most striking embodiment of the Baroque were the palace ensembles of St. Petersburg, Peterhof and Tsarskoe Selo, the luxury and scale of which have no equal in Europe. The founder of the “Elizabethan Baroque” became one of the outstanding architects of that era.

By the middle of the 18th century, Baroque was replaced by an even more sophisticated and eclectic Rococo style.

At the end of the 16th century there appeared new style– Baroque. This is what will be discussed in this article.

Baroque (Italian barocco - “bizarre”, “strange”, “prone to excess”, port. perola barroca - literally "pearl with a flaw") is a style in art in general and architecture in particular.

Baroque era

It is conventionally believed (like all historical periods) that the Baroque era lasted during the 16th-18th centuries. Interestingly, it all started with, which by the 16th century began to noticeably weaken in the international arena, economically and politically.

The French and Spaniards actively pursued their policies in Europe, although Italy still remained the cultural center of European society. And the strength of a culture, as we know, is determined by its ability to adapt to new realities.

So the Italian nobility, not having the money to build rich palaces demonstrating their power and grandeur, turned to art in order to use it to create the appearance of wealth, strength and prosperity.

This is how the Baroque era began, which became an important stage in the development of world art.

It is important to emphasize that people's lives began to change fundamentally at this time. The Baroque era is characterized by a lot of free time. The townspeople prefer horse riding (“carousels”) and playing cards to knightly tournaments (see), walking in the park to pilgrimages, and theaters to mystery plays.

Old traditions based on superstitions and prejudices are falling away. An outstanding mathematician and philosopher derives the formula: “I think, therefore I exist.” That is, society is being rebuilt to a different way of thinking, where what is sensible is not what some authority said, but what can be mathematically accurately explained to any intelligent being.

An interesting fact is that in the professional environment there are more disputes around the word “Baroque” than about the era as such. WITH Spanish barroco is translated as an irregularly shaped pearl, but from Italian - baroco means a false logical conclusion.

This second option looks like the most plausible version of the origin of the controversial word, since it was in the Baroque era that some kind of brilliant absurdity, and even whimsicality, was observed in art, striking the imagination with its pomposity and grandeur.

Baroque style

The Baroque style is characterized by contrast, dynamism and tension, as well as a clear desire for pomp and external grandeur.

It is interesting that representatives of this direction extremely organically united different styles art. In short, the Reformation and teaching played a key role in laying the foundation of the Baroque style.

If for the Renaissance it was typical to perceive man as the measure of all things and the most intelligent of beings, then he now perceives himself differently: “something in between everything and nothing.”

Baroque art

Baroque art is distinguished, first of all, by its extraordinary splendor of forms, originality of plots and dynamism. The art is dominated by catchy floridity. In painting, the most outstanding representatives of this style were Rubens and.

Looking at some of Caravaggio’s paintings, you can’t help but be amazed at the dynamism of his subjects. The play of light and shadow incredibly subtly emphasizes the various emotions and experiences of the characters. An interesting fact is that the influence of this artist on art was so great that a new style appeared - Caravaggism.

Some followers managed to adopt naturalism from their teacher in depicting people and events on canvas. Peter Rubens, studying in Italy, became a follower of Caravaggio and Carraci, mastering their technique and adopting their style.

The Flemish painter Van Dyck and the Dutchman Rembrandt were also prominent representatives of Baroque art. This style was followed by the outstanding artist Diego Velazquez, and by Nicolas Poussin.

By the way, it was Poussin who began to lay the foundations of a new style in art - classicism.

Baroque in architecture

The architecture, executed in the Baroque style, is distinguished by its spatial scope and complex, curvilinear forms. Numerous sculptures on the facades and in the interiors, various colonnades and a lot of bracing create a pomp and majestic appearance.

Architectural ensemble "Zwinger" in Dresden

Domes take on complex shapes and often have several tiers. An example is the dome in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, whose architect was.

Most significant works Baroque architecture is considered to be the Palace of Versailles and the building of the French Academy. The world's largest Baroque ensembles include Versailles, Peterhof, Zwinger, Aranjuez and Schönbrunn.

In general, it must be said that the architecture of this style spread to many European countries, including, under the influence of Peter the Great.

Baroque music

When talking about the Baroque era, it is impossible to ignore music, since it also underwent significant changes during this period. Composers combined large-scale musical forms while simultaneously trying to contrast choral and solo singing, voices and instruments.

Various instrumental genres. The most prominent representatives of Baroque music are Bach, Handel and.

To summarize, we can say with confidence that this era gave birth to geniuses of world significance who forever wrote their names in history. The creativity of many of them is still decorated best museums different countries.

If you love interesting facts about everything in the world - we recommend subscribing to. It's always interesting with us!

Art (Baroque art.), a style of European art and architecture of the 17th and 18th centuries. IN 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- catchy floridity and dynamism - corresponded to the self-confidence and aplomb of the newly regained strength of the 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 work in the last decade of the 16th century - the first decade of the 17th century.

BAROQUE (Italian - barocco, presumably from the Portuguese barroco - an irregularly shaped pearl or from the Latin baroco - a mnemonic designation for one of the modes of syllogism in traditional logic), a style in art of the late 16th-18th centuries. Covered all areas of the plastic arts (architecture, sculpture, painting), literature, music and performing arts. The Baroque style was an expression of a typological community national cultures during the period of the formation of absolutism, which was accompanied by severe military conflicts (including the Thirty Years' War of 1618-48), the strengthening of Catholicism and church ideology (see Counter-Reformation). Thanks to this commonality, it is also legitimate to talk about the cultural and historical era of the Baroque, which succeeded the Renaissance. The chronological boundaries of Baroque do not coincide in individual regions (in Latin America, a number of countries of Central and Eastern Europe, in Russia the style was formed later than in Western Europe) and in various types of art (for example, in the 18th century, Baroque exhausted itself in Western European literature, but continued to exist in architecture, fine arts, music). Italy is rightfully considered the birthplace of Baroque. Baroque is closely associated with mannerism of the 16th century and coexists with classicism.

The Baroque style reflected a new worldview that replaced Renaissance humanism and anthropocentrism, which contradictorily combined the features of rationalism and mystical spiritualism, the desire for scientific systematization of knowledge and a passion for magical and esoteric teachings, interest in the objective world in all its breadth and religious exaltation. Scientific discoveries that expanded the boundaries of the universe brought awareness of the infinite complexity of the world, but at the same time turned man from the center of the universe into a small part of it. The destruction of the balance between man and the world was manifested in the antinomy of the Baroque, which gravitated towards sharp contrasts of the sublime and the base, the carnal and the spiritual, the refined and the brutal, the tragic and the comic, and so on. The calm balance and harmony of Renaissance art were replaced by increased affectation, exaltation, and violent dynamics. At the same time, striving for an active influence on the viewer-listener, the Baroque style relied on a carefully thought-out rational system of techniques, largely based on rhetoric [primarily on the doctrine of “invention” (Latin inventio) and about stylistic figures, “decoration” (Latin elocutio)]. Rhetorical principles were transferred to various types of art, determining the construction literary work, theatrical performances, programs of decorative and monumental painting cycles, musical compositions.

Wanting to combine contrasting images, and often elements of various genres (tragicomedy, opera-ballet, etc.) and stylistic manners within one work, the Baroque masters attached special importance to virtuoso artistry: the victory of technology over the material of art symbolized the triumph of a creative genius who has “ wit” - the ability to unite distant and dissimilar concepts in a single image. The main tool of “wit” was metaphor - the most important of the Baroque tropes, “the mother of poetry” (E. Tesauro).

The desire for a comprehensive impact on the audience led to the rapprochement and interpenetration characteristic of the Baroque various types arts (architectural illusions in painting and scenography, sculptural and picturesque architecture, theatricalization of sculpture, poetic and picturesque music, the combination of image and text in figurative verses and in the genre of emblems). Pathetically “high” baroque with its inherent grandeur and pomp (architectural ensembles, altars and altar images, triumphs and apotheoses in painting, operas on mythological stories, tragedy, heroic poem; theatrical spectacles - coronations, weddings, funerals, etc.) coexisted with chamber (still life in painting, pastoral and elegy in literature) and grassroots (comedy interludes in opera and school drama) forms of the Baroque. Lifelikeness in Baroque art often bordered on both spectacular theatricality (the motif of the world as a theater is typical of the Baroque) and complex symbolism: the object depicted in realistic manner, concealed a hidden meaning.

The term “Baroque” arose in the 18th century among art historians close to classicism (I. Wikelman, F. Milizia); initially expressed a negative assessment of Italian architecture of the 17th century, and later of all art of this period. The epithet “baroque” in classicist normative aesthetics served to designate everything that was outside the rules and contradicted order and classical clarity. In musicology, the term “baroque” (for the first time in the “Musical Dictionary” of J. J. Rousseau, 1768) also had a negative meaning for a long time, focusing attention on certain “oddities” that fell outside the norms of classicism. One of the first to give a historical interpretation of the Baroque was J. Burckhardt (in the book “Il Cicerone”, 1855), who defined the Baroque style in connection with Italian architecture of the late 16th century. The theory of Baroque as a style in the fine arts, different from the Renaissance and classicism, was formulated by G. Wölfflin (“Renaissance and Baroque”, 1888; “Basic Concepts of Art History”, 1915), who identified formal categories to distinguish between the essentially opposite styles of the Renaissance and baroque. The idea of ​​Baroque as a historical style was transferred to literature and music only at the beginning of the 20th century. The modern concept of baroque tends to take it beyond the boundaries of art and literature, to transfer it to such areas as sociology, politics, history, religion and philosophy. Sometimes the concept of “baroque” is interpreted not in a specific historical sense, but as a designation of a set of stylistic features that periodically repeat at various stages of cultural evolution (for example, elements of baroque style are seen in romanticism, expressionism, surrealism, Latin American magical realism etc.).

V. D. Dazhina, K. A. Chekalov, D. O. Chekhovich.

Architecture and fine arts. Certain features of the Baroque style (thrust for the grandiose, dynamic composition, dramatic tension) appeared already in the 16th century in the works of Correggio, Michelangelo, G. da Vignola, F. Barocci, Giambologna. The heyday of the Baroque dates back to the 1620-30s, the final stage occurs in the mid-18th century, and in some countries at the end of this century.

Baroque art embodied the idea of ​​a triumphant church, which contributed to the solution of large-scale architectural problems, the creation of majestic ensembles (the square in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, the reconstruction of the most important Roman basilicas, the Churrigueresco style in Spain, etc.), the flourishing of picturesque interior design and representative altar paintings. The idea of ​​the triumph of power was also organic to the Baroque, which was reflected in the art of the court Baroque, characteristic not only of the centers of absolutism (France, Portugal, Spain, Austria, Russia, some states of Germany and Italy), but also for the republics that asserted their power ( Venice, Genoa).

The inherent desire of the Baroque for splendor of forms and spectacular showmanship manifested itself most clearly in architecture. It was during the Baroque era that new European urban planning was born, and the type of modern house, street, square, and urban estate was developed. In Latin American countries, Baroque urban planning principles determined the appearance of many cities. Palace and park ensembles are developing (Versailles, Petrodvorets, Aranjuez, Zwinger, etc.), decorative and applied and small sculptural forms, and landscape gardening are flourishing. Baroque architecture is characterized by a tendency towards a synthesis of arts, an emphasized interaction of volume with the spatial environment (the natural environment of the park, the openness of the architectural ensemble of the square), curvilinearity of plans and outlines, sculptural elasticity and plasticity of forms, contrasting play of light and shadow, multi-scale volumes, illusionism (J. L. Bernini, F. Borromini, D. Fontana, Pietro da Cortona, C. Maderna, C. Rainaldi, G. Guarini, B. Longhena, J. B. de Churriguera, G. Hesius, L. Vanvitelli, etc.) . Painting and sculpture actively interact with architecture, transforming the interior space; Stucco molding and various materials in their spectacular and colorful combinations (bronze, multi-colored marble, granite, alabaster, gilding, etc.) are widely used.

Baroque fine art is dominated by masterly executed decorative compositions of religious, mythological or allegorical content (plafonds by Pietro da Cortona, A. Pozzo, the Carracci brothers, P. P. Rubens, G. B. Tiepolo), spectacular theatrical ceremonial portraits (A. Wang Dyck, J.L. Bernini, G. Rigo), fantastic (S. Rosa, A. Magnasco) and heroic (Domenichino) landscapes, as well as more intimate forms of portrait (Rubens), landscape and architectural works (F. Guardi, G. . A. Canaletto), pictorial parables (D. Fetti). Court life and its theatricalization contributed to the active development of representative forms of painting (decorative cycles of paintings of palace apartments, battle painting, mythological allegory, etc.). The perception of reality as an endless and changeable cosmos makes the pictorial space limitless, which opens upward in spectacular ceiling compositions, goes deep into inventive architectural landscapes and theatrical scenery (scenography by B. Buontalenti, G.B. Aleotti, G. Torelli, J.L. Bernini, I. Jones, the Galli Bibbien family, etc.). Perspective effects, spatial illusions, linear and compositional rhythms, contrast of scales violate integrity, giving rise to a feeling of improvisation, the free birth of forms, and their variability. A primary role was played by optical effects, a fascination with aerial perspective, the transfer of atmosphere, transparency and humidity of the air (G. B. Tiepolo, F. Guardi, etc.).

In the painting of the “high” baroque, focusing on the so-called big style, preference was given to historical and mythological genres, which were then considered the highest in the genre hierarchy. During this era, “lower” (in the terminology of the time) genres also emerged and fruitfully developed: still life, genre painting proper, landscape. The democratic direction of the Baroque, alien to theatricalization and affectation of feelings, manifested itself in realistic everyday scenes (“painters of reality” in France, representatives of Caravaggism, the bodegones genre in Spain, everyday genre and still life in Holland and Flanders), non-church religious painting (J.M. Crespi, Rembrandt).

The Baroque style existed in many national variants, distinguished by their bright originality. The Flemish Baroque is most characterized by the work of Rubens with his ability to convey through pictorial means a feeling of the fullness of life, its internal dynamics and variability. Spanish Baroque is distinguished by greater restraint and asceticism of style, combined with an orientation towards local realistic traditions (D. Velazquez, F. Zurbaran, J. de Ribera, architect J. B. de Herrera). In Germany (architects and sculptors B. von Neumann, A. Schlüter, the Azam brothers, etc.) and Austria (architects I. B. Fischer von Erlach and I. L. von Hildebrandt), the Baroque style was often combined with Rococo features. In the art of France, Baroque retains a Renaissance rationalist basis, later actively interacting with classicist elements (the so-called Baroque classicism). Certain stylistic features of the Baroque were manifested in the emphasized decorativeism of the buildings of the state halls of Versailles, and the decorative panels of S. Vouet and C. Lebrun. England, with the cult of classical forms and Palladianism characteristic of its architecture (I. Jones, K. Wren), mastered a more restrained version baroque style(mainly in decorative painting and interior design). The style also appeared in restrained, ascetic forms in some Protestant countries (Holland, Sweden, etc.). In Russia, the development of the Baroque style dates back to the 18th century (heyday - 1740-50s), which was associated with the growth and strengthening of the absolute monarchy. More early period, defined as Naryshkin Baroque, is closely related to the traditions of architecture Ancient Rus' and is not directly related to the Baroque style. The originality of Russian Baroque was determined not only by the stability of national traditions and forms, but also by the interaction of Baroque features with classicism and Rococo (sculptor K. B. Rastrelli, architects B. F. Rastrelli, S. I. Chevakinsky, D. V. Ukhtomsky). National versions of the Baroque style arose in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Western Ukraine, and Lithuania. The centers of the spread of Baroque were not only European countries, but also a number of Latin American countries (especially Mexico and Brazil, where Baroque acquired hypertrophied features in ultra-Baroque forms), as well as the Philippines and other Spanish colonies.

V. D. Dazhina.

Literature. The earliest manifestations of Baroque in literature, which remain close to mannerism, date back to the last quarter of the 16th century: the tragedy of R. Garnier “Hippolyte” (1573), “Tragic Poems” by T. A. d'Aubigne (created in 1577-79 , published in 1616), T. Tasso’s poem “Jerusalem Liberated” (1581). The style fades away in the 2nd half of the 17th century (the founding of the Arcadia Academy in 1690 is considered the chronological boundary of the Baroque in Italy), but it continues to persist in Slavic literature during the Enlightenment.

The form-creative experimental principle, the craving for novelty, for the unusual and unusual in Baroque literature are associated with the formation of a new European picture of the world and are largely generated by the same renewal of cognitive paradigms as the scientific and geographical discoveries of the turn of the 16th-17th centuries. The influence of new European empiricism is reflected in the active use by writers of life-like and even naturalistic forms (not only in prose, but also in poetry), according to the law of contrast, combined with the hyperbolism of style and the cosmism of the figurative structure (the poem by G. Marino “Adonis”, published in 1623) .

The most important component of the Baroque is the desire for diversity (Latin “varietas”), which was considered as one of the criteria for the artistic perfection of poetry (including the Baroque by Gracian and Morales, E. Tesauro, Tristan L'Hermite and especially J. P. Camus, the creator of the monumental 11-volume work “Motley Mixture”, 1609-19). Comprehensiveness, the desire to summarize knowledge about the world (taking into account the latest discoveries and inventions) - characteristic features baroque. In other cases, encyclopedism turns into chaos, a collection of curiosities; the sequence of the review of the universe takes on an extremely whimsical, individually associative character; the world appears as a labyrinth of words, a set of mysterious signs (the treatise of the Jesuit E. Binet “An Essay on Miracles”, 1621). Books of emblems are widely popular as universal codes of various kinds of truths and ideas about the world: the influence of emblematics is felt in the poetry of G. Marino, F. von Zesen, J. Morshtyn, Simeon Polotsky, and in the novel “Critikon” by B. Gracian y Morales (1651-57).

Baroque literature is characterized by the desire to explore existence in its contrasts (darkness and light, flesh and spirit, time and eternity, life and death), in its dynamics and at various levels (the pendulum movement between the levels of the social hierarchy in the novel by H. von Grimmelshausen " Simplicissimus", 1668-1669). Baroque poetics is marked by increased attention to the symbols of the night (A. Gryphius, G. Marino), the theme of frailty and impermanence of the world (B. Pascal, J. Duperron, L. de Gongora i Argote), dream life (F. de Quevedo -Villegas, P. Calderon de la Barca). In Baroque texts the Ecclesiastes formula of “the vanity of the world” (Latin vanitas mundi) is often heard. Ecstaticity and spirituality often merge with a morbid fascination with death (J. Donne’s treatise “Biothanatos”, published in 1644; poetry by J. B. Chassinier). The recipe against this fascination can be either stoic indifference to suffering (A. Gryphius) or sublimated eroticism (F. Deporte, T. Carew). The tragedy of the Baroque partly has a socio-historical determinism (wars in France, Germany, etc.).

Marked by stylistic sophistication and rich in rhetorical figures (repetitions, antitheses, parallelisms, gradations, oxymorons, etc.), Baroque poetry developed within the framework of national variants: Gongorism and Conceptism (in which the deliberate semantic obscurity inherent in the Baroque was expressed with particular force) in Spain, Marinism in Italy, metaphysical school and euphuism in England. Along with works of a secular, court and salon (V. Voiture) nature, spiritual poems (P. Fleming, J. Herbert, G. Lubrano) occupy an important place in Baroque poetry. The most popular genres are sonnet, epigram, madrigal, satire, religious and heroic poem, etc.

For Western European Baroque, the genre of the novel is extremely significant; It is in this genre that Baroque most fully reveals itself as an international style: thus, the Latin-language novel by J. Barclay “Argenida” (1621) becomes a model for narrative prose throughout Western Europe. Along with the real-life and satirical modifications of the baroque novel (C. Sorel, P. Scarron, A. Furetiere, I. Mocherosh), its gallant-heroic variety enjoyed great success (J. de Scudéry and M. de Scudery, G. Marini, D.K. von Lohenstein). The so-called high Baroque novel attracted readers not only with its intricate twists and turns, an abundance of literary and political allusions and an ingenious combination of the “romantic” and cognitive principles, but also with its significant volume, which can be considered one of the manifestations of the Baroque “poetics of amazement”, striving to embrace the world in everything its bizarre diversity. In terms of structural features, the Baroque religious novel (J. P. Camus, A. J. Brignolet Sale) is close to the gallant-heroic novel.

In Baroque culture, marked by increased theatricality, an important place is occupied by dramatic genres- both secular (Elizabethan drama in England, pastoral tragicomedy, “new comedy” in Spain) and religious (Spanish autographs, biblical dramas by J. van den Vondel). The early dramaturgy of P. Corneille also belongs to the Baroque; his Comic Illusion (1635-36) is an encyclopedia of theatrical genres of the 16th and 17th centuries.

Baroque literature, following the literature of mannerism, gravitates toward genre experiments and mixing genres (the emergence of the essay genre, irocomic and burlesque poems, and opera-tragicomedy). “Simplicissimus” by H. von Grimmelshausen combines elements of picaresque, allegorical, utopian, pastoral novels, as well as the style of Schwanks and popular prints. Scientific Christian epic " Lost Paradise"J. Milton (1667-74) also includes a number of small genres - ode, hymn, pastoral eclogue, georgy, epithalamus, lamentation, album, etc.

A characteristic feature of the Baroque, paradoxically combined with a tendency towards ananormativity, is a tendency towards theoretical self-understanding: the treatises “Wit and the Art of the Sophisticated Mind” by B. Gracian y Morales (1642-48), “Aristotle’s Spyglass” by E. Tesauro (published in 1655). A number of Baroque novels include literary and aesthetic commentary: “The Extravagant Shepherd” by C. Sorel (1627), “The Dog of Diogenes” by F. F. Frugoni (1687-89); “Assenath” by F. von Zesen (1670).

IN Slavic countries Baroque has a number of features that allow us to talk about “Slavic Baroque” as a special modification of the style (the term was proposed in 1961 by A. Andyal). In a number of cases, it is noticeably secondary in relation to Western European models (J. Morsztyn as a successor of Marinism in Polish poetry), however, the first Polish poetics of M. K. Sarbewski (“Praecepta poetica”, early 1620s) are ahead of the Baroque treatises in time Gracian y Morales and E. Tesauro. The highest achievements of the Slavic Baroque are associated with poetry (philosophical and love lyrics in Poland, religious poetry in the Czech Republic). In Russian literary baroque, the tragic worldview is less pronounced; it is characterized by a ceremonial, state pathos, an educational principle, strongly expressed by the founder of the poetic baroque in Russia, Simeon of Polotsk, his student Sylvester (Medvedev) and Karion Istomin. In the 18th century, the Baroque traditions were supported by Feofan Prokopovich and Stefan Yavorsky; the narrative structures of the baroque novel are used in Masonic prose (“Cadmus and Harmony” by M. M. Kheraskov, 1786).

K. A. Chekalov.

Music. The Baroque style prevailed in European professional music from the 17th to the 1st half of the 18th century. The boundaries of the Baroque era, as well as the traditional division into the stages of early (1st half of the 17th century), mature (2nd half of the 17th century) and late (1st half of the 18th century) Baroque, are very conditional, since the Baroque was established in music different countries at the same time. In Italy, Baroque made its presence known at the turn of the 16th-17th centuries, that is, about 2 decades earlier than in Germany, and it penetrated into Russian music only in the last quarter of the 17th century in connection with the spread of partes singing.

In the modern concept, Baroque is a complex style that combines diverse manners of composition and performance, that is, the actual “styles” in the understanding of music theorists of the 17th and 18th centuries (“church”, “theater”, “concert”, “chamber”), styles of national schools and individual composers. The diversity of Baroque music is clearly manifested when comparing works that are stylistically distant from each other, such as the operas of F. Cavalli and G. Purcell, the polyphonic cycles of G. Frescobaldi and the violin concertos of A. Vivaldi, the “Sacred Symphonies” of G. Schutz and the oratorios of G. . F. Handel. They, however, demonstrate a significant degree of commonality when compared with examples of Renaissance music of the 16th century and with the classical style of the 2nd half of the 18th and early 19th centuries. As in previous musical-historical eras, the musical in the Baroque is closely connected with the extra-musical (word, number, dance movement); however, a new phenomenon also arises - the isolation of purely musical methods of organization, which made possible the flourishing of instrumental music genres.

The Baroque era in music is often called the era of the general bass, thereby marking widespread and the important role of this system of composing, recording and performing music. The possibility of different decoding of the general bass indicates the specificity of baroque compositions - their fundamental variability and significant dependence on a specific performing embodiment, in which performers (as a rule, in the absence of detailed author's instructions in the musical text) have to determine the tempo, dynamic nuances, instrumentation, possibility the use of melodic embellishments and so on, up to the significant role of improvisation in a number of genres (for example, in the “unmetered” preludes of the 17th century French harpsichordists L. Couperin, N. Lebesgue, etc., in cadenzas of soloists in instrumental concerts of the 18th century, in reprise sections of arias da capo).

Baroque is the first style in the history of European music with the obvious dominance of the major-minor tonal system (see Harmony, Tonality). It was within the framework of the Baroque that homophony (the division of musical texture into the main melodic voice and accompaniment) first made its appearance. At the same time, the free style of polyphony and its highest form, the fugue, was formed and reached its peak (in the work of J. S. Bach); Baroque music mostly uses a mixed type of texture, combining elements of polyphony and homophony. It was at this time that individualized musical thematics took shape. Typically baroque theme song consists of a bright initial intonation core, followed by a more or less prolonged development, leading to a short conclusion - a cadence. Baroque themes, as well as entire compositions, in comparison with classical ones, based on a rather rigid song and dance framework, are characterized by much greater meter-rhythmic freedom.

In the Baroque era, music expanded its expressive capabilities, especially in the desire to convey the diversity of human emotional experiences; they were presented in the form of generalized emotional states - affects (see Affect theory). However, the main purpose of music in the Baroque era was considered to be the glorification of God. Therefore, in the genre hierarchy recorded in the theoretical treatises of that time, primacy was invariably given to the genres of church music. However, in practice secular music has proven to be no less significant, especially in the field of musical theatre. It was during the Baroque era that the most important musical and stage genre, opera, took shape and passed through a very long period of its history, the degree of distribution and development of which was largely an indicator of the level of musical culture of a particular country. The centers of opera art in the Baroque era were Venice (late C. Monteverdi, F. Cavalli, M. A. Cesti), Rome (S. Landi), Naples (A. Scarlatti), Hamburg (German operas by R. Kaiser, G. F. . Handel), Vienna (Chesti, A. Caldara, I. J. Fuchs), Paris (J. B. Lully, J. F. Rameau), London (H. Purcell, Italian operas by Handel). Both new vocal genres that emerged in the Baroque era (oratorio and cantata) and traditional genres of church music were influenced by opera (in late Baroque masses, motets, passions, and so on, opera forms were actively used: aria, duet, recitative). The differences between church and secular music in stylistic terms became less and less significant, which made it possible to use the same musical material in both secular and church compositions (numerous examples in the works of J. S. Bach).

The Baroque era was the culmination of organ art, which actively developed in the Netherlands (J. P. Sweelinck), Italy (G. Frescobaldi), France (F. Couperin, L. Marchand), but most of all in the Protestant lands of Germany, where S. Scheidt, I. Pachelbel, D. Buxtehude, J. S. Bach. Many genres associated with religious symbolism and designed for performance in church (fantasy, toccata, prelude, fugue, chorale variations, and so on) had, however, not a liturgical, but a concert purpose. Other genres of instrumental music were also actively used: triosonata (A. Corelli, G. F. Telemann, etc.), dance suite for various compositions - from harpsichord or solo violin to large ensembles (F. Couperin, J. S. Bach, G. . F. Handel and others), concerto for solo instrument and orchestra (A. Vivaldi, J. S. Bach, etc.), concerto grosso (Corelli, Handel). In the Concerto Grosso (an ensemble-orchestral concert with a group of soloists), the characteristic qualities of the Baroque were clearly manifested - the active use of the principle of concertoing, contrasting comparisons of sound masses of different densities (many vocal works of the Baroque era have similar qualities, including the so-called spiritual concerts, which received special spread in Russia at the end of the 17th and 18th centuries).

The connection with rhetoric is expressed both in the general principles of the arrangement of musical material, and in the use of specific melodic-rhythmic phrases with established semantics - the so-called musical-rhetorical figures, which in vocal music strengthened the meaning of the verbal text, and in the instrumental - to a certain extent made it possible to “decipher” the figurative content (however, to reveal the content, F. Couperin, J. F. Rameau, G. F. Telemann often gave characteristic names to instrumental compositions, and I. Froberger , I. Kunau, A. Vivaldi even accompanied them deployed literary programs). However, instrumental music, devoid of the support of words, which largely retained its applied functions (dance, table music, etc.), gradually acquired aesthetic value in itself, turning into concert music itself.

Elements of the Baroque style were also used in the music of the classical period (up to L. van Beethoven), and subsequently in neoclassicism of the 20th century (by I. F. Stravinsky, P. Hindemith). In the performance of Baroque music, historical elements are increasingly used. musical instruments(authentic or their exact copies), the acoustic conditions specific to it, the performing principles of the era, recorded in musical theoretical treatises and literary and artistic monuments of the 17th-18th centuries are recreated (see Authentic performance).

Yu. S. Bocharov.

Lit.: General work. Schnürer G. Katholische Kirche und Kultur in der Barockzeit. Paderborn, 1937; Retorica e Barocco. Rome, 1955; Die Kunstformen des Barockzeitalters / Hrsg. von R. Stamm. Bern, 1956; Renaissance. Baroque. Classicism. The problem of styles in Western European art of the 15th-17th centuries. M., 1966; Baroque in Slavic cultures. M., 1982; Croce V. Storia dell ‘età barocca in Italy. Mil., 1993; Paul J.-M. Images modernes et contemporaines de l'homme baroque. Nancy, 1997; Battistini A. Il barocco: cultura, miti, immagini. Rome, 2000; Wellflin G. Renaissance and Baroque: A Study of the Essence and Development of the Baroque Style in Italy. St. Petersburg, 2004.

Architecture and fine arts.

Riegl A. Die Entstehung der Barockkunst in Rom. W., 1908; Weisbach W. Der Barock als Kunst der Gegenreformation. B., 1921; idem. Die Kunst des Barock in Italien, Frankreich, Deutschland und Spanien. 2. Aufl. B., 1929; Male E. L'art religieux après le concile de Trente. P., 1932; Fokker T. H. Roman Baroque art. The history of the style. L., 1938. Vol. 1-2; Praz M. Studies in seventeenth century imagery: In 2 vol. S. 1., 1939-1947; Mahon D. Studies in seicento art and theory. L., 1947; Friedrich C. J. The age of Baroque, 1610-1660. N. Y., 1952; Argan G. C. L’architettura barocca in Italy. Rome, 1960; Battisti E. Renaiscimento e barocco. Firenze, 1960; Bialostocki J. Barock: Stil, Epoche, Haltung // Bialostocki J. Stil und Ikonographie. Dresden, 1966; Keleman P. Baroque and Rococo in Latin America. N.Y., 1967; Rotenberg E. I. Western European art XVII V. M., 1971; Held J.S., Posner D. 17th and 18th century art: baroque painting, sculpture, architecture. N.Y., 1971; Russian art baroque. M., 1977; Vipper B. Russian Baroque architecture. M., 1978; Voss H. Die Malerei des Barock in Rom. S.F., 1997; The triumph of baroque: architecture in Europe, 1600-1750 / Ed. H. Millon. N.Y., 1999; Bazin J. Baroque and Rococo. M., 2001.

Literature. Raymond M. Baroque et renaissance poétique. P., 1955; Getto G. Barocco in prosa e in poetry. Mil., 1969; Sokolowska J. Spory about barok. Warsz., 1971; Dubois Cl. G. Le Baroque. P., 1973; Slavic Baroque. M., 1979; Emrich W. Deutsche Literatur der Barockzeit. Königstein, 1981; Questionnaire du baroque. Louvain; Brux., 1986; Identità e metamorfosi del barocco ispanico. Napoli, 1987; Hoffmeister G. Deutsche und europäische Barockliteratur. Stuttg., 1987; Souiller D. La littérature baroque en Europe. P., 1988; Le baroque littéraire: théorie et pratiques. P., 1990; Pavih M. Barok. Beograd, 1991; Sazonova L.I. Poetry of the Russian Baroque (second half of the 17th - early 18th centuries). M., 1991; KuchowiczZ. Czlowiek polskiego baroku. Lodz, 1992; Baroque in the avant-garde - avant-garde in the baroque. M., 1993; Mikhailov A.V. Baroque poetics: the end of the rhetorical era // Mikhailov A.B. Languages ​​of culture. M., 1997; Genette J. About a baroque narrative // ​​Figures. M., 1998. T. 1; Hernas Cz. Barok. Warsz., 1998; Silyunas V.Yu. Lifestyle and art styles: (Spanish theater of mannerism and baroque). St. Petersburg, 2000; D'Ors E. Lo Barocco. Madrid, 2002; Rousset J. La littérature de l'âge baroque en France: Circé et le paon. P., 2002.

Music. Bukofzer M. Music in the Baroque era from Monteverdi to Bach. N. Y., 1947; Clercx S. Le baroque et la musique. Brux., 1948; Le baroque musical. Recueil d'études sur la musique. Liege, 1964; Dammann R. Der Musikbegriff im deutschen Barock. Köln, 1967; Blume F. Renaissance and Baroque music. A comprehensive survey. N.Y., 1967; idem. Barock // Epochen der Musikgeschichte in Einzeldarstellungen. Kassel, 1974; Stricker R. Musique du baroque. ; Stefani G. Musica barocca. Mil., 1974; Livanova T.N. Western European music of the 17th-18th centuries. in the range of arts. M., 1977; Raaben L. Baroque music // Questions musical style. L., 1978; Braun W. Die Musik des 17. Jahrhunderts. Laaber, 1981; Donington R. Baroque music: style and performance. N.Y., 1982; Palisca C. V. Baroque Music. 3rd ed. Englewood Cliffs, 1991; Baron J.H. Baroque music: a research and information guide. N.Y., 1992; Lobanova M. Western European musical baroque: problems of aesthetics and poetics. M., 1994; Anderson N. Baroque music from Monteverdi to Handel. L., 1994.

Baroque- characteristics of European culture of the 17th-18th centuries, during the Late Renaissance, the center of which was Italy. The Baroque style appeared in the 16th-17th centuries in Italian cities: Rome, Mantua, Venice, Florence. The Baroque era is considered to be the beginning of the triumphant march of “Western civilization.” Baroque opposed classicism and rationalism.

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 were formed 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 perceive 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 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.

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 was paid to “drill” - the geometric correctness of formations on the parade ground.

Baroque man

Baroque man rejects naturalness, which is identified with savagery, unceremoniousness, tyranny, brutality and ignorance - all that would become a virtue in the era of romanticism. The Baroque woman values ​​her pale skin and wears an unnatural, elaborate hairstyle, a corset and an artificially widened skirt with a whalebone frame. She's wearing heels.

And the gentleman becomes the ideal man in the Baroque era - from English. gentle: “soft”, “gentle”, “calm”. Initially, he preferred 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. In the Baroque era, naturalness is synonymous with brutality, savagery, vulgarity and extravagance. For the philosopher Hobbes, the state of nature state of nature) is a state that is characterized by anarchy and war of all against all.

Baroque is characterized by the idea of ​​ennobling nature on the basis of reason. Not to endure need, but “to offer it gracefully in pleasant and courteous 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); interest in the opposite sex - in polite flirting, quarrels - 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” (1689), and Carl Linnaeus systematizes biology (“System of Nature”, 1735). 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 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: Robinson Crusoe, ship's doctor Gulliver and Baron Munchausen.

“In the Baroque era, a fundamentally new formation took place, different from medieval allegorical thinking. 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.”