Baroques

From Rome to Saint Petersburg, Portugal to Brazil, the Baroque was the first art movement to span not only countries but distant continents. This illustrated book takes us on a pilgrimage through its endless variations over some two hundred years, beginning in the early seventeenth century. Readers are treated to such wonders as Bernini's intensely powerful sculptures and his immense colonnade on Saint Peter's Square, as well as imposing palace facades, trompe l'oeil painted ceilings, soaring angels, fierce demons, elegant villas, lush gardens, and more. Though once viewed in Europe as decadent compared to Renaissance art, the Baroque is seen today as the ultimate manifestation of a style that expanded the bounds of reality and led to a "culture of visualization," prefiguring the modern age.