Baroque
(Baroque, probably from the Portuguese word barocco = badly made, misshapen pearl): A term, originally pejorative, that refers to the European architecture and painting of the period 1600-1750. Baroque’s architecture had reached its peak in Rome (1630-1680), by Bernini and Borromini, and in southern Germany (1700-1750) by Balthazar Nouméa and Fischer von Erlach. Baroque buildings are designed with a series of adjustable geometric spaces (circles, squares and failures), all within the coexistence of convex and concave curves and competing or concerted external lines, but with a strong presence of gypsum, relief sculptures and decorative elements, and with all arts being used and often even conflicted between them. In painting, dominate illusionism, whereas sculptors such as Bernini are trying to make the most of the games of light onto the surfaces and the contours. The total is a dramatic and emotional "attack" against the spectator, who is lured into a spatial geometry that is constantly changing, driven by an enclave to another, "implicated" in the drama unfolding in relief or fresco, confuses the scope of the art with that of reality. Over the years, the decorative element will dominate more and more, and Baroque will give its position to the lighter and more serene Rococo. The art of Baroque is closely connected to the whole movement of Counter-Reformation, and especially to the “Order of Jesuits”. The "engagement" of the viewer in the structure of the church and the religious narratives that dominate on the walls, also serve consciously proselytizing purposes. The Jesuit missionaries brought this artistic style wherever they were installed. In South Africa in particular, Baroque was the dominant rhythm of European architecture in the late 19th century. Sometimes the term is used, by extension, in music, to denote the period between Monteverdi (d. 1643) and GS Bach (d. 1750).