Baroque is the name given to the art of the 17th century. But the baroque style, like all other styles in the history of art, began gradually. It started in the latter part of the 16th century and continued to be used well into the 18th century. Baroque can be defied as the florid, ornate style characterizing fine arts in Europe from the middle 16th to middle 18th centuries. The main characteristic of the baroque architecture is movement. Architects wanted their buildings to be exciting and to give the impression of activity. They did this by making dramatic contrasts of light and shadow and by using curved shapes.
The Renaissance enthusiasm for antiquity led the architects to adhere to the rules of classic architecture as far as they were understood. The baroque style flouted these laws. By mid-century the carefully controlled and subtly refined Classical Baroque trend was clearly established. In France, its pre-eminent position was never seriously challenged. French Baroque architecture was more restrained in its expression than its Italian counterpart. The most common and remembered details that made the two styles different were its culture, ec
Jacques Lemercier -Church of the Sorbonne 1635
Artist Name of Work year *Illustration*
Jules Hardouin Mansart -Church of Les Invalides 1680-1691
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