Baroque Paintings

The Baroque style originated around 1600 in Rome, Italy and influenced the whole Europe. It's a period of artistic style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur.

Baroque style featured "exaggerated lighting, intense emotions, release from restraint, and even a kind of artistic sensationalism". Baroque art did not really depict the life style of the people at that time; however, "closely tied to the Counter-Reformation, this style melodramatically reaffirmed the emotional depths of the Catholic faith and glorified both church and monarchy" of their power and influence.

A sense of drama and a love of the ornate characterize the Baroque. Things such as foliage motifs, marquetry, putti, crests and initials, and lambrequin motif are also elements of the Baroque style.