Baroque

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  St. Peter's Basilica, Rome, by Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno and others, completed in 1615[29]
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  Santa Maria della Salute, Venice, by Baldassare Longhena, 1631–1687[30]
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  San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, Rome, by Francesco Borromini, 1638–1677
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  Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, Rome, by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 1648–1651[31]
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  St. Peter's Square, Rome, by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 1656–1667[29]
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  Santa Maria della Pace, Rome, by Pietro da Cortona, 1656–1667[32]

The first building in Rome to have a Baroque facade was the Church of the Gesù in 1584; it was plain by later Baroque standards, but marked a break with the traditional Renaissance facades that preceded it. The interior of this church remained very austere until the high Baroque, when it was lavishly ornamented.

In Rome in 1605, Paul V became the first of series of popes who commissioned basilicas and church buildings designed to inspire emotion and awe through a proliferation of forms, and a richness of colours and dramatic effects.[33] Among the most influential monuments of the Early Baroque were the facade of St. Peter's Basilica (1606–1619), and the new nave and loggia which connected the facade to Michelangelo's dome in the earlier church. The new design created a dramatic contrast between the soaring dome and the disproportionately wide facade, and the contrast on the facade itself between the Doric columns and the great mass of the portico.[34]

In the mid to late 17th century the style reached its peak, later termed the High Baroque. Many monumental works were commissioned by Popes Urban VIII and Alexander VII. The sculptor and architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini designed a new quadruple colonnade around St. Peter's Square (1656 to 1667). The three galleries of columns in a giant ellipse balance the oversize dome and give the Church and square a unity and the feeling of a giant theatre.[35]

Another major innovator of the Italian High Baroque was Francesco Borromini, whose major work was the Church of San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane or Saint Charles of the Four Fountains (1634–1646). The sense of movement is given not by the decoration, but by the walls themselves, which undulate and by concave and convex elements, including an oval tower and balcony inserted into a concave traverse. The interior was equally revolutionary; the main space of the church was oval, beneath an oval dome.[35]

Painted ceilings, crowded with angels and saints and trompe-l'œil architectural effects, were an important feature of the Italian High Baroque. Major works included The Entry of Saint Ignatius into Paradise by Andrea Pozzo (1685–1695) in the Church of Saint Ignatius in Rome, and The triumph of the name of Jesus by Giovanni Battista Gaulli in the Church of the Gesù in Rome (1669–1683), which featured figures spilling out of the picture frame and dramatic oblique lighting and light-dark contrasts.[36]

The style spread quickly from Rome to other regions of Italy: It appeared in Venice in the church of Santa Maria della Salute (1631–1687) by Baldassare Longhena, a highly original octagonal form crowned with an enormous cupola. It appeared also in Turin, notably in the Chapel of the Holy Shroud (1668–1694) by Guarino Guarini. The style also began to be used in palaces; Guarini designed the Palazzo Carignano in Turin, while Longhena designed the Ca' Rezzonico on the Grand Canal, (1657), finished by Giorgio Massari with decorated with paintings by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.[37] A series of massive earthquakes in Sicily required the rebuilding of most of them and several were built in the exuberant late Baroque or Rococo style.

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  Palacio de San Telmo, Seville, Spain, by Leonardo de Figueroa, 1682–1796
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  Vestry of the Granada Charterhouse, Granada, Spain, by Narciso Tomé, 1727–1764[38]
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  Royal Palace of Madrid, Madrid, Spain, by Jean Bautista Sachetti, 1735–1764[39]
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  Façade of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, by Fernando de Casas Novoa, 1738[40]

The Catholic Church in Spain, and particularly the Jesuits, were the driving force of Spanish Baroque architecture. The first major work in this style was the San Isidro Chapel in Madrid, begun in 1643 by Pedro de la Torre. It contrasted an extreme richness of ornament on the exterior with simplicity in the interior, divided into multiple spaces and using effects of light to create a sense of mystery.[41] The Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela was modernized with a series of Baroque additions beginning at the end of the 17th century, starting with a highly ornate bell tower (1680), then flanked by two even taller and more ornate towers, called the Obradorio, added between 1738 and 1750 by Fernando de Casas Novoa. Another landmark of the Spanish Baroque is the chapel tower of the Palace of San Telmo in Seville by Leonardo de Figueroa.[42]

Granada had only been conquered from the Moors in the 15th century, and had its own distinct variety of Baroque. The painter, sculptor and architect Alonso Cano designed the Baroque interior of Granada Cathedral between 1652 and his death in 1657. It features dramatic contrasts of the massive white columns and gold decor.

The most ornamental and lavishly decorated architecture of the Spanish Baroque is called Churrigueresque style, named after the brothers Churriguera, who worked primarily in Salamanca and Madrid. Their works include the buildings on the city's main square, the Plaza Mayor of Salamanca (1729).[42] This highly ornamental Baroque style was influential in many churches and cathedrals built by the Spanish in the Americas.

Other notable Spanish baroque architects of the late Baroque include Pedro de Ribera, a pupil of Churriguera, who designed the Royal Hospice of San Fernando in Madrid, and Narciso Tomé, who designed the celebrated El Transparente altarpiece at Toledo Cathedral (1729–1732) which gives the illusion, in certain light, of floating upwards.[42]

The architects of the Spanish Baroque had an effect far beyond Spain; their work was highly influential in the churches built in the Spanish colonies in Latin America and the Philippines. The Church built by the Jesuits for a college in Tepotzotlán, with its ornate Baroque facade and tower, is a good example.[43]

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  Poznań Fara, Poznań, Poland, by Bartłomiej Nataniel Wąsowski, Giovanni Catenazzi and Pompeo Ferrari, 1651–1732
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  Wilanów Palace, Warsaw, Poland, unknown architect, 1677–1679[44]
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  Plague Column, Vienna, Austria, by Matthias Rauchmiller and Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, 1682 and 1694[45]
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  Church of Saint Nicholas, Prague, Czech Republic, by Christoph Dientzenhofer, 1703–1711[46]
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  Exterior of the Karlskirche, Vienna, by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, 1715–1737[47]
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  Interior of the Karlskirche, by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, 1715–1737[47]
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  Upper Belvedere, Vienna, by Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt, 1717–1723[48]
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  Rogalin Palace, Rogalin, Poland, unknown architect, 1768–1774[49]

From 1680 to 1750, many highly ornate cathedrals, abbeys, and pilgrimage churches were built in Central Europe, in Bavaria, Austria, Bohemia and southwestern Poland. Some were in Rococo style, a distinct, more flamboyant and asymmetric style which emerged from the Baroque, then replaced it in Central Europe in the first half of the 18th century, until it was replaced in turn by classicism.[50]

The princes of the multitude of states in that region also chose Baroque or Rococo for their palaces and residences, and often used Italian-trained architects to construct them.[51] Notable architects included Johann Fischer von Erlach, Lukas von Hildebrandt and Dominikus Zimmermann in Bavaria, Balthasar Neumann in Bruhl, and Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann in Dresden. In Prussia, Frederick II of Prussia was inspired by the Grand Trianon of the Palace of Versailles, and used it as the model for his summer residence, Sanssouci, in Potsdam, designed for him by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff (1745–1747). Another work of Baroque palace architecture is the Zwinger in Dresden, the former orangerie of the palace of the Dukes of Saxony in the 18th century.

One of the best examples of a rococo church is the Basilika Vierzehnheiligen, or Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, a pilgrimage church located near the town of Bad Staffelstein near Bamberg, in Bavaria, southern Germany. The Basilica was designed by Balthasar Neumann and was constructed between 1743 and 1772, its plan a series of interlocking circles around a central oval with the altar placed in the exact centre of the church. The interior of this church illustrates the summit of Rococo decoration.[52] Another notable example of the style is the Pilgrimage Church of Wies (German: Wieskirche). It was designed by the brothers J. B. and Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps, in the municipality of Steingaden in the Weilheim-Schongau district, Bavaria, Germany. Construction took place between 1745 and 1754, and the interior was decorated with frescoes and with stuccowork in the tradition of the Wessobrunner School. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Another notable example is the St. Nicholas Church (Malá Strana) in Prague (1704–1755), built by Christoph Dientzenhofer and his son Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer. Decoration covers all of walls of interior of the church. The altar is placed in the nave beneath the central dome, and surrounded by chapels, light comes down from the dome above and from the surrounding chapels. The altar is entirely surrounded by arches, columns, curved balustrades and pilasters of coloured stone, which are richly decorated with statuary, creating a deliberate confusion between the real architecture and the decoration. The architecture is transformed into a theatre of light, colour and movement.[27]

In Poland, the Italian-inspired Polish Baroque lasted from the early 17th to the mid-18th century and emphasised richness of detail and colour. The first Baroque building in present-day Poland and probably one of the most recognizable is the Church of St. Peter and Paul in Kraków, designed by Giovanni Battista Trevano. Sigismund's Column in Warsaw, erected in 1644, was the world's first secular Baroque monument built in the form of a column.[53] The palatial residence style was exemplified by the Wilanów Palace, constructed between 1677 and 1696.[54] The most renowned Baroque architect active in Poland was Dutchman Tylman van Gameren and his notable works include Warsaw's St. Kazimierz Church and Krasiński Palace, St. Anne's in Kraków and Branicki Palace in Bialystok.[55] However, the most celebrated work of Polish Baroque is the Fara Church in Poznań, with details by Pompeo Ferrari. After Thirty Years' War under the agreements of the Peace of Westphalia two unique baroque wattle and daub structures was built: Church of Peace in Jawor, Holy Trinity Church of Peace in Świdnica the largest wooden Baroque temple in Europe.

• 
  Château de Maisons, France, by François Mansart, 1630–1651[56]
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  Galerie d'Apollon, Louvre Palace, Paris, by Louis Le Vau and Charles Le Brun, after 1661[57]
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  East front of the Louvre Palace, Paris, by Claude Perrault and Louis Le Vau, 1665–1680[58]
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  Chapel of the Palace of Versailles, Versailles, France, 1696–1710[59]
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  Porte Saint-Denis, Paris, by François Blondel, 1672[60]
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  Dôme des Invalides, Paris, by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, 1677–1706[61]
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  Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles, 1678–1684[62]
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  Garden façade of the Palace of Versailles, by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, 1678–1688[63]
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  The Marble Court of the Palace of Versailles, 1680[64]
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  Place Vendôme, Paris, by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, 1699–1706[65]
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  Hôtel de Rothelin-Charolais, Paris, by Pierre Cailleteau, 1700–1704[66]

Baroque in France developed quite differently from the ornate and dramatic local versions of Baroque from Italy, Spain and the rest of Europe. It appears severe, more detached and restrained by comparison, preempting Neoclassicism and the architecture of the Enlightenment. Unlike Italian buildings, French Baroque buildings have no broken pediments or curvilinear façades. Even religious buildings avoided the intense spatial drama one finds in the work of Borromini. The style is closely associated with the works built for Louis XIV (reign 1643–1715), and because of this, it is also known as the Louis XIV style. Louis XIV invited the master of Baroque, Bernini, to submit a design for the new wing of the Louvre, but rejected it in favor of a more classical design by Claude Perrault and Louis Le Vau.[67][68]

The main architects of the style included François Mansart (1598–1666), Pierre Le Muet (Church of Val-de-Grace, 1645–1665) and Louis Le Vau (Vaux-le-Vicomte, 1657–1661). Mansart was the first architect to introduce Baroque styling, principally the frequent use of an applied order and heavy rustication, into the French architectural vocabulary. The mansard roof was not invented by Mansart, but it has become associated with him, as he used it frequently.[69]

The major royal project of the period was the expansion of Palace of Versailles, begun in 1661 by Le Vau with decoration by the painter Charles Le Brun. The gardens were designed by André Le Nôtre specifically to complement and amplify the architecture. The Galerie des Glaces (Hall of Mirrors), the centerpiece of the château, with paintings by Le Brun, was constructed between 1678 and 1686. Mansart completed the Grand Trianon in 1687. The chapel, designed by de Cotte, was finished in 1710. Following the death of Louis XIV, Louis XV added the more intimate Petit Trianon and the highly ornate theatre. The fountains in the gardens were designed to be seen from the interior, and to add to the dramatic effect. The palace was admired and copied by other monarchs of Europe, particularly Peter the Great of Russia, who visited Versailles early in the reign of Louis XV, and built his own version at Peterhof Palace near Saint Petersburg, between 1705 and 1725.[70]

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  University Library, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal, by Gaspar Ferreira, 1716–1728[71]
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  Palace of Mafra, Mafra, Portugal, by João Frederico Ludovice, 1717–1755[72]
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  Azulejo in the cloisters of the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora, Lisboa, Portugal, with a scene based on a print by Jean Le Pautre, unknown architect or craftsman, 1730–1735[73]
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  Grand Staircase of the Pilgrimage Church of Bom Jesus do Monte, Braga, Portugal, by Carlos Luís Ferreira Amarante and others, c.1784[74]

Baroque architecture in Portugal lasted about two centuries (the late seventeenth century and eighteenth century). The reigns of John V and Joseph I had increased imports of gold and diamonds, in a period called Royal Absolutism, which allowed the Portuguese Baroque to flourish.

Baroque architecture in Portugal enjoys a special situation and different timeline from the rest of Europe.

It is conditioned by several political, artistic, and economic factors, that originate several phases, and different kinds of outside influences, resulting in a unique blend,[75] often misunderstood by those looking for Italian art, find instead specific forms and character which give it a uniquely Portuguese variety. Another key factor is the existence of the Jesuitical architecture, also called "plain style" (Estilo Chão or Estilo Plano)[76] which like the name evokes, is plainer and appears somewhat austere.

The buildings are single-room basilicas, deep main chapel, lateral chapels (with small doors for communication), without interior and exterior decoration, simple portal and windows. It is a practical building, allowing it to be built throughout the empire with minor adjustments, and prepared to be decorated later or when economic resources are available.

In fact, the first Portuguese Baroque does not lack in building because "plain style" is easy to be transformed, by means of decoration (painting, tiling, etc.), turning empty areas into pompous, elaborate baroque scenarios. The same could be applied to the exterior. Subsequently, it is easy to adapt the building to the taste of the time and place, and add on new features and details. Practical and economical.

With more inhabitants and better economic resources, the north, particularly the areas of Porto and Braga,[77][78][79] witnessed an architectural renewal, visible in the large list of churches, convents and palaces built by the aristocracy.

Porto is the city of Baroque in Portugal. Its historical centre is part of UNESCO World Heritage List.[80]

Many of the Baroque works in the historical area of the city and beyond, belong to Nicolau Nasoni an Italian architect living in Portugal, drawing original buildings with scenographic emplacement such as the church and tower of Clérigos,[81] the logia of the Porto Cathedral, the church of Misericórdia, the Palace of São João Novo,[82] the Palace of Freixo,[83] the Episcopal Palace (Portuguese: Paço Episcopal do Porto)[84] along with many others.

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  Peterhof Gardens, Saint Petersburg, Russia, unknown architect, 1746–1758[85]
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  Smolny Convent, Saint Petersburg, by Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, 1748[86]
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  Tsarskoe Selo, Pushkin, Russia, by Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, 1749–1756[87]

The debut of Russian Baroque, or Petrine Baroque, followed a long visit of Peter the Great to western Europe in 1697–1698, where he visited the Chateaux of Fontainebleau and Versailles as well as other architectural monuments. He decided, on his return to Russia, to construct similar monuments in St. Petersburg, which became the new capital of Russia in 1712. Early major monuments in the Petrine Baroque include the Peter and Paul Cathedral and Menshikov Palace.

During the reign of Empress Anna and Elizaveta Petrovna, Russian architecture was dominated by the luxurious Baroque style of Italian-born Bartolomeo Rastrelli, which developed into Elizabethan Baroque. Rastrelli's signature buildings include the Winter Palace, the Catherine Palace and the Smolny Cathedral. Other distinctive monuments of the Elizabethan Baroque are the bell tower of the Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra and the Red Gate.[88]

In Moscow, Naryshkin Baroque became widespread, especially in the architecture of Eastern Orthodox churches in the late 17th century. It was a combination of western European Baroque with traditional Russian folk styles.

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  Basilica of San Francisco de Asís, Havana, Cuba, unknown architect, 1548–1738[89]
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  Church of San Francisco Acatepec, San Andrés Cholula, Mexico, unknown architect, 17th–18th centuries
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  Church of San Lorenzo de Carangas, Potosí, Bolivia, unknown architect, mid-16th century–c.1744[90][91]
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  Santo Domingo Church, Santiago, Chile, unknown architect, 1747–1808[92]
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  Church of Santa Prisca de Taxco, Taxco, Mexico, by Diego Durán and Cayetano Sigüenza, 1751–1758[93]
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  Church of São Francisco de Assis, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil, by Aleijadinho, 1765–1788

Façade of the Jesuit Church of Arequipa, Peru, by Diego de Adrián and others, 1595–1698[94]

Preserved colonial wall paintings of 1802 depicting Hell,[95][96][97] by Tadeo Escalante, inside the Church of San Juan Bautista in Huaro, Peru

Due to the colonization of the Americas by European countries, the Baroque naturally moved to the New World, finding especially favorable ground in the regions dominated by Spain and Portugal, both countries being centralized and irreducibly Catholic monarchies, by extension subject to Rome and adherents of the Baroque Counter-reformist most typical. European artists migrated to America and made school, and along with the widespread penetration of Catholic missionaries, many of whom were skilled artists, created a multiform Baroque often influenced by popular taste. The Criollo and indigenous crafters did much to give this Baroque unique features. The main centres of American Baroque cultivation, that are still standing, are (in this order) Mexico, Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, Cuba, Colombia, Bolivia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama and Puerto Rico.

Of particular note is the so-called "Missionary Baroque", developed in the framework of the Spanish reductions in areas extending from Mexico and southwestern portions of current-day United States to as far south as Argentina and Chile, indigenous settlements organized by Spanish Catholic missionaries in order to convert them to the Christian faith and acculturate them in the Western life, forming a hybrid Baroque influenced by Native culture, where flourished Criollos and many indigenous artisans and musicians, even literate, some of great ability and talent of their own. Missionaries' accounts often repeat that Western art, especially music, had a hypnotic impact on foresters, and the images of saints were viewed as having great powers. Many natives were converted, and a new form of devotion was created, of passionate intensity, laden with mysticism, superstition, and theatricality, which delighted in festive masses, sacred concerts, and mysteries.[98][99]

The Colonial Baroque architecture in the Spanish America is characterized by a profuse decoration (portal of La Profesa Church, Mexico City; facades covered with Puebla-style azulejos, as in the Church of San Francisco Acatepec in San Andrés Cholula and Convent Church of San Francisco of Puebla), which will be exacerbated in the so-called Churrigueresque style (Facade of the Tabernacle of the Mexico City Cathedral, by Lorenzo Rodríguez; Church of San Francisco Javier, Tepotzotlán; Church of Santa Prisca of Taxco). In Peru, the constructions mostly developed in the cities of Lima, Cusco, Arequipa and Trujillo, since 1650 show original characteristics that are advanced even to the European Baroque, as in the use of cushioned walls and solomonic columns (Church of la Compañía de Jesús, Cusco; Basilica and Convent of San Francisco, Lima).[100] Other countries include: the Metropolitan Cathedral of Sucre in Bolivia; Cathedral Basilica of Esquipulas in Guatemala; Tegucigalpa Cathedral in Honduras; León Cathedral in Nicaragua; the Church of la Compañía de Jesús in Quito, Ecuador; the Church of San Ignacio in Bogotá, Colombia; the Caracas Cathedral in Venezuela; the Cabildo of Buenos Aires in Argentina; the Church of Santo Domingo in Santiago, Chile; and Havana Cathedral in Cuba. It is also worth remembering the quality of the churches of the Spanish Jesuit Missions in Bolivia, Spanish Jesuit missions in Paraguay, the Spanish missions in Mexico and the Spanish Franciscan missions in California.[101]

In Brazil, as in the metropolis, Portugal, the architecture has a certain Italian influence, usually of a Borrominesque type, as can be seen in the Co-Cathedral of Recife (1784) and Church of Nossa Senhora da Glória do Outeiro in Rio de Janeiro (1739). In the region of Minas Gerais, highlighted the work of Aleijadinho, author of a group of churches that stand out for their curved planimetry, facades with concave-convex dynamic effects and a plastic treatment of all architectural elements (Church of São Francisco de Assis in Ouro Preto, 1765–1788).

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  São Paulo, Macau, China, unknown architect, 1601[102]
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  São Paulo, Diu, India, unknown architect, 1601[103]
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  San Agustín Church, Manila, Philippines, unknown architect, 1586–1606[104]
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  Pulpit, Basilica of Bom Jesus, Goa, India, unknown architect or craftsman, 18th century[105]

In the Portuguese colonies of India (Goa, Daman and Diu) an architectural style of Baroque forms mixed with Hindu elements flourished, such as the Goa Cathedral and the Basilica of Bom Jesus of Goa, which houses the tomb of St. Francis Xavier. The set of churches and convents of Goa was declared a World Heritage Site in 1986.

In the Philippines, which was a Spanish colony for over three centuries, a large number of Baroque constructions are preserved. Four of these as well as the Baroque and Neoclassical city of Vigan are both UNESCO World Heritage Sites; and although they lack formal classification, The Walled City of Manila along with the city of Tayabas both contain a significant extent of Baroque-era architecture.

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  Golia Monastery Church, Iași, Romania, unknown architect, 1650-1660
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  Horezu Monastery, Horezu, Romania, with a Solomonic column, unknown architect, 17th-18th centuries[106]
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  Door and pisanie of the Saints Constantine and Helena Church, Horezu Monastery, unknown architect or sculptor, 1692-1694
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  Maximalist railing of the Potlogi Palace, Potlogi, unknown architect, 1698
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  Twisting columns and railings of the Mogoșoaia Palace, Mogoșoaia, unknown architect, early 18th century[107]
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  Cartouche on a damaged stone in the courtyard of Antim Monastery, Bucharest, unknown sculptor, late 17th-early 18th century

As we saw, the Baroque is a Western style, born in Italy. Through the commercial and cultural relationships of Italians with countries of the Balkan Peninsula, including Moldavia and Wallachia, Baroque influences arrive to Eastern Europe. These influences were not very strong, since they usually take place in architecture and stone-sculpted ornaments, and are also mixed intensely with details taken from Byzantine and Islamic art.

Before and after the fall of the Byzantine Empire, all the art of Wallachia and Moldavia was primarily influenced by the one of Constantinople. Until the end of the 16th century, with little modifications, the plans of churches and monasteries, the murals, and the ornaments carved in stone remain the same as before. From a period starting with the reigns of Matei Basarab (1632-1654) and Vasile Lupu (1634-1653), which coincides with the popularization of Italian Baroque, new ornaments are added, and the style of religious furniture changes. This is not random at all. Decorative elements and principles are brought from Italy, through Venice, or through the Dalmatian regions, and they are adopted by architects and craftsmen from the east. The window and door frames, the pisanie with dedication, the tombstones, the columns and railings, and a part of the bronze, silver or wooden furniture, receive a more important role than the one they had before. They existed before too, inspired by the Byzantine tradition, but they have a more realist look, showing delicate floral motifs. The relief that existed before too, becomes more accentuated, having volume and consistency now. Before this period, reliefs from Wallachia and Moldavia, like the ones from the East, had only two levels, at a small distance one from the other, one at the surface and the other in depth. Big flowers, maybe roses, peonies or thistles, thick leaves, of acanthus or another similar plant, are twisting on columns, or surround door and windows. A place where the Baroque had a strong influence are columns and the railings. Capitals are more decorated than before with foliage. Columns have often twisting shafts, a local reinterpretation of the Solomonic column. Maximalist railings are placed between these columns, decorated with rinceaux. Some of the ones from the Mogoșoaia Palace are also decorated with dolphins. Cartouches are also used sometimes, mostly on tombstones, like on the one of Constantin Brâncoveanu. This movement, is known as the Brâncovenesc style, after Constantin Brâncoveanu, a ruler of Wallachia whose reign (1654-1714) is highly associated with this kind of architecture and design. The style is also present during the 18th century, and in a part of the 19th. Many of the churches and residences erected by boyards and voivodes of these periods are Brâncovenesc. Although Baroque influences can be clearly seen, the Brâncovenesc style takes much more inspiration from the local tradition.

As the 18th century passes, with the Phanariot (members of prominent Greek families in Phanar, Istanbul) reigns in Wallachia and Moldavia, Baroque influences come from Istanbul too. They came before too, during the 17th century, but with the Phanariots, more Western Baroque motifs that arrived to the Ottoman Empire have their final destination in present-day Romania. In Moldavia, Baroque elements come from Russia too, where the influence of Italian art was strong.[108]

Example of Bolivian painting (part of the Cusco School): an Arquebusier Angel; by Master of Calamarca; 17th century

In the Hispanic Americas, the first influences were from Sevillan Tenebrism, mainly from Zurbarán —some of whose works are still preserved in Mexico and Peru— as can be seen in the work of the Mexicans José Juárez and Sebastián López de Arteaga, and the Bolivian Melchor Pérez de Holguín. The Cusco School of painting arose after the arrival of the Italian painter Bernardo Bitti in 1583, who introduced Mannerism in the Americas. It highlighted the work of Luis de Riaño, disciple of the Italian Angelino Medoro, author of the murals of the Church of San Pedro of Andahuaylillas. It also highlighted the Indian (Quechua) painters Diego Quispe Tito and Basilio Santa Cruz Pumacallao, as well as Marcos Zapata, author of the fifty large canvases that cover the high arches of the Cathedral of Cusco. In Ecuador, the Quito School was formed, mainly represented by the mestizo Miguel de Santiago and the criollo Nicolás Javier de Goríbar.

In the 18th century sculptural altarpieces began to be replaced by paintings, developing notably the Baroque painting in the Americas. Similarly, the demand for civil works, mainly portraits of the aristocratic classes and the ecclesiastical hierarchy, grew. The main influence was the Murillesque, and in some cases – as in the criollo Cristóbal de Villalpando – that of Valdés Leal. The painting of this era has a more sentimental tone, with sweet and softer shapes. It highlight Gregorio Vásquez de Arce in Colombia, and Juan Rodríguez Juárez and Miguel Cabrera in Mexico.

• Giovanni Gabrieli (c. 1554/1557–1612) Sonata pian' e forte (1597), In Ecclesiis (from Symphoniae sacrae book 2, 1615)
• Giovanni Girolamo Kapsperger (c. 1580–1651) Libro primo di villanelle, 20 (1610)
• Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643), L'Orfeo, favola in musica (1610)
• Heinrich Schütz (1585–1672), Musikalische Exequien (1629, 1647, 1650)
• Francesco Cavalli (1602–1676), L'Egisto (1643), Ercole amante (1662), Scipione affricano (1664)
  

  JS Bach (1685–1750)
• Johann Jacob Froberger (1616–1667), Complete Music for Harpsichord and Organ, Simone Stella
• Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632–1687), Armide (1686)
• Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643–1704), Te Deum (1688–1698)
• Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber (1644–1704), Mystery Sonatas (1681)
• John Blow (1649–1708), Venus and Adonis (1680–1687)
• Johann Pachelbel (1653–1706), Canon in D (1680)
• Arcangelo Corelli (1653–1713), 12 concerti grossi, Op. 6 (1714)
• Marin Marais (1656–1728), Sonnerie de Ste-Geneviève du Mont-de-Paris (1723)
• Henry Purcell (1659–1695), Dido and Aeneas (1688)
• Alessandro Scarlatti (1660–1725), L'honestà negli amori (1680), Il Pompeo (1683), Mitridate Eupatore (1707)
• François Couperin (1668–1733), Les barricades mystérieuses (1717)
• Tomaso Albinoni (1671–1751), Didone abbandonata (1724)
• Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741), The Four Seasons (1725)
• Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679–1745), Il Serpente di Bronzo (1730), Missa Sanctissimae Trinitatis (1736)
• Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767), Der Tag des Gerichts (1762)
• Johann David Heinichen (1683–1729)
• Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683–1764), Dardanus (1739)
• George Frideric Handel (1685–1759), Water Music (1717), Messiah (1741)
• Domenico Scarlatti (1685–1757), Sonatas for harpsichord
• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750), Toccata and Fugue in D minor (1703–1707), Brandenburg Concertos (1721), St Matthew Passion (1727)
• Nicola Porpora (1686–1768), Semiramide riconosciuta (1729)
• Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710–1736), Stabat Mater (1736)

Following the evolution marked from Spain, at the end of the 16th century, the companies of comedians, essentially transhumant, began to professionalize. With professionalization came regulation and censorship: as in Europe, the theatre oscillated between tolerance and even government protection and rejection (with exceptions) or persecution by the Church. The theatre was useful to the authorities as an instrument to disseminate the desired behavior and models, respect for the social order and the monarchy, school of religious dogma.[156]

The corrales were administered for the benefit of hospitals that shared the benefits of the representations. The itinerant companies (or "of the league"), who carried the theatre in improvised open-air stages by the regions that did not have fixed locals, required a viceregal license to work, whose price or pinción was destined to alms and works pious.[156] For companies that worked stably in the capitals and major cities, one of their main sources of income was participation in the festivities of the Corpus Christi, which provided them with not only economic benefits, but also recognition and social prestige. The representations in the viceregal palace and the mansions of the aristocracy, where they represented both the comedies of their repertoire and special productions with great lighting effects, scenery, and stage, were also an important source of well-paid and prestigious work.[156]

Born in the Viceroyalty of New Spain[157] but later settled in Spain, Juan Ruiz de Alarcón is the most prominent figure in the Baroque theatre of New Spain. Despite his accommodation to Lope de Vega's new comedy, his "marked secularism", his discretion and restraint, and a keen capacity for "psychological penetration" as distinctive features of Alarcón against his Spanish contemporaries have been noted. Noteworthy among his works La verdad sospechosa, a comedy of characters that reflected his constant moralizing purpose.[156] The dramatic production of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz places her as the second figure of the Spanish-American Baroque theatre. It is worth mentioning among her works the auto sacramental El divino Narciso and the comedy Los empeños de una casa.

• 
  Meudon Observatory, Château de Meudon, Meudon, France, an example of an early Rococo building from the last years of Louis XIV, unknown architect, 1706-1709[163]
• 
  Chest of drawers; by Charles Cressent; c.1730; various wood types; gilt-bronze mounts and a Brèche d'Aleps marble top; height: 91.1 cm; Waddesdon Manor, Waddesdon, UK
• 
  Amalienburg, Nymphenburg Palace Park, Munich, Germany, by François de Cuvilliés, 1734-1739[164]
• 
  The Salon Oval de la Princesse of the Hôtel de Soubise, Paris, by Germain Boffrand, Charles-Joseph Natoire and Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, 1737-1739
• 
  The Triumph of Venus; by François Boucher; 1740; oil on canvas; 130 × 162 cm; Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden
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  Vieux-Laque Room, Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria, decorated with Chinese black lacquerware panels, by Nikolaus Pacassi, 1743-1763[165]
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  Gate with two statues and elaborate wrought-iron grilles, Würzburg, Germany, grilles by Johann Georg Oegg, 1752
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  Chinese House, Sanssouci Park, Potsdam, Germany, an example of Chinoiserie, by Johann Gottfried Büring, 1755–1764[166]
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  Coffeepot, decorated with foliage; 1757; silver; height: 29.5 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
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  The Music Lesson; by the Chelsea Porcelain Factory; c.1765; soft-paste porcelain; 39.1 × 31.1 × 22.2 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art
• 
  Pagod, based on Asian figures of Budai, an example of Chinoiserie; by Johann Joachim Kändler; c.1765; hard paste porcelain; Metropolitan Museum of Art[167]
• 
  Cartouche from the Second Livre de Cartouches, an example of asymmetry; c.1710-1772; engraving on paper; 23 x 19.8 cm; Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

The Rococo is the final stage of the Baroque, and in many ways took the Baroque's fundamental qualities of illusion and drama to their logical extremes. Beginning in France as a reaction against the heavy Baroque grandeur of Louis XIV's court at the Palace of Versailles, the rococo movement became associated particularly with the powerful Madame de Pompadour (1721–1764), the mistress of the new king Louis XV (1710–1774). Because of this, the style was also known as 'Pompadour'. Although it's highly associated with the reign of Louis XV, it didn't appear in this period. Multiple works from the last years of Louis XIV's reign are examples of early Rococo. The name of the movement derives from the French 'rocaille', or pebble, and refers to stones and shells that decorate the interiors of caves, as similar shell forms became a common feature in Rococo design. It began as a design and decorative arts style, and was characterized by elegant flowing shapes. Architecture followed and then painting and sculpture. The French painter with whom the term Rococo is most often associated is Jean-Antoine Watteau, whose pastoral scenes, or fêtes galantes, dominate the early part of the 18th century.

There are multiple similarities between Rococo and Baroque. Both styles insist on monumental forms, and so use continuous spaces, double columns or pilasters, and luxurious materials (including gilded elements). There also noticeable differences. Rococo designed freed themselves from the adherence to symmetry that had dominated architecture and design since the Renaissance. Many small objects, like ink pots or porcelain figures, but also some ornaments, are often asymmetrical. This goes hand in hand with the fact that most ornamentation consisted of interpretation of foliage and sea shells, not as many Classical ornaments inherited from the Renaissance like in Baroque. Another key difference is the fact that since the Baroque is the main cultural manifestation of the spirit of the Counter-Reformation, it is most often associated with ecclesiastical architecture. In contrast, the Rococo is mainly associated with palaces and domestic architecture. In Paris, the popularity of the Rococo coincided with the emergence of the salon as a new type of social gathering, the venues for which were often decorated in this style. Rococo rooms were typically smaller than their Baroque counterparts, reflecting a movement towards domestic intimacy.[168] Colours also match this change, from the earthy tones of Caravaggio's paintings, and the interiors of red marble and gilded mounts of the reign of Louis XIV, to the pastel and relaxed pale blue, Pompadour pink, and white of the Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour's France. Similarly to colours, there was also a transition from serious, dramatic and moralistic subjects in painting and sculpture, to lighthearted and joyful themes.

One last difference between Baroque and Rococo is the interest that 18th century aristocrats had for East Asia. Chinoiserie was a style in fine art, architecture and design, popular during the 18th century, that was heavily inspired by Chinese art, but also by Rococo at the same time. Because traveling to China or other Far Eastern countries was something hard at that time and so remained mysterious to most Westerners, European imagination were fuelled by perceptions of Asia as a place of wealth and luxury, and consequently patrons from emperors to merchants vied with each other in adorning their living quarters with Asian goods and decorating them in Asian styles. Where Asian objects were hard to obtain, European craftsmen and painters stepped up to fill the demand, creating a blend of Rococo forms and Asian figures, motifs and techniques. Aside from European recreations of objects in East Asian style, Chinese lacquerware was reused in multiple ways. European aristicrats fully decorated a handful of rooms of palaces, with Chinese lacquer panels used as wall panels. Due to its aspect, black lacquer was popular for Western men's studies. Those panels used were usually glossy and black, made in the Henan province of China. They were made of multiple layers of lacquer, then incised with motifs in-filled with colour and gold. Chinese, but also Japanese lacquer panels were also used by some 18th century European carpenters for making furniture. In order to be produced, Asian screens were dismantled and used to veneer European-made furniture.

• 
  Panthéon, Paris, by Jacques-Germain Soufflot and Jean-Baptiste Rondelet, 1758–1790[169]
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  Eating Room, Osterley Park, London, by Robert Adam, 1761[102]
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  Facade of the Petit Trianon, Versailles, France, by Ange-Jacques Gabriel, 1764[170]
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  Oath of the Horatii; by Jacques-Louis David; 1784; oil on canvas; 3.3 x 4.27 m; Louvre[171]
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  This caricature contrasts Rococo 1778 (at right) and Neoclassical 1793 (at left) styles for both men and women, showing the large changes in just 15 years, and overall the contrast between the Baroque and Rococo fashion with a lot of lacework and wigs, and the simplicity and the same time elegance of Neoclassical outfits
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  Rue Jacob no. 46, an example of the Directoire style (a period in French Neoclassicism), very minimalist compared to Baroque or Rococo facades, Paris, unknown architect, unknown date
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  Directoire style armchair of the salon of Madame Récamier, without any kind of gilding; attributed to Jacob Frères; c.1798; various types of wood; 84.5 x 62.2 x 62 cm; Louvre[172]
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  Empire style dress of Madame Récamier, in very different to Baroque and Rococo fashion, painted by François Gérard, 1802
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  Empire style vase, very different from the blue-and-white ceramics of the 17th century; 1809; hard-paste porcelain and gilded bronze handles; height: 74.9 cm, diameter: 35.6 cm; Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut, US[173]

In 1750, Madame de Pompadour sent her nephew, Abel-François Poisson de Vandières, on a two-year mission to study artistic and archeological developments in Italy. He was accompanied by several artists, including the engraver Nicolas Cochin and the architect Soufflot. They returned to Paris with a passion for classical art. Vandiéres became the Marquis of Marigny, and was named Royal Director of buildings in 1754. He turned official French architecture toward Neoclassicism, a movement that heavily takes its inspiration from and tries to revive the art of Ancient Greece and Rome. Cochin became an important art critic; he denounced the petit style of François Boucher (one of the main Rococo painters), and called for a grand style with a new emphasis on antiquity and nobility in the academies of painting of architecture.[174]

The transition from Rococo to Neoclassicism wasn't very abrupt. Some of the biggest patrons of Rococo art also commissioned early Neoclassical works. Madame de Pompadour, one of the main figures of Rococo, commissioned the Petit Trianon, one of the most important examples of French Neoclassical architecture. Similarly, Louis XV, the king at whose court the Rococo flourished, founded the Panthéon, another iconic Neoclassical monument. Besides this, in France there was the Louis XVI style, which uses shapes and motifs taken from ancient Greek, Etruscan and Roman antiquity, but still has the sweet, delicate and fancy vibe of the Rococo. In the UK, Robert Adam's Greco-Roman inspired interior of the Eating Room in the Osterley Park, near London, despite being Neoclassical, is painted mainly in white and pastel green and pink, reminiscent of Rococo. It must be mentioned that Neoclassicism wasn't about copying. Artists didn't try to become frozen in the past, but to use Antiquity and its ideals in a way that was relevant to contemporary society.

The pioneer German art historian and archeologist Johann Joachim Winckelmann also condemned the baroque style, and praised the superior values of classical art and architecture. By the 19th century, Baroque was a target for ridicule and criticism. The neoclassical critic Francesco Milizia wrote: "Borrominini in architecture, Bernini in sculpture, Pietro da Cortona in painting...are a plague on good taste, which infected a large number of artists."[175] In the 19th century, criticism went even further; the British critic John Ruskin declared that baroque sculpture was not only bad, but also morally corrupt.[175]

The Swiss-born art historian Heinrich Wölfflin (1864–1945) started the rehabilitation of the word Baroque in his Renaissance und Barock (1888); Wölfflin identified the Baroque as "movement imported into mass", an art antithetic to Renaissance art. He did not make the distinctions between Mannerism and Baroque that modern writers do, and he ignored the later phase, the academic Baroque that lasted into the 18th century. Baroque art and architecture became fashionable in the interwar period, and has largely remained in critical favor. The term "Baroque" may still be used, often pejoratively, describing works of art, craft, or design that are thought to have excessive ornamentation or complexity of line.[176] At the same time "baroque" has become an accepted terms for various trends in Roman art and Roman architecture in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, which display some of the same characteristics as the later Baroque.

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  Large console with central projection; by Benjamin Deguil and Benjamin-Paul Ramillon; 1850-1875; gilt wood and marble; 100 x 283 x 77 cm; Napoleon III Apartments, Louvre Palace, Paris[177]
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  The Grand Salon of the apartments of the minister of state, currently known as the Napoleon III Apartments, designed by Hector Lefuel and decorated with paintings by Charles Raphaël Maréchal, 1859-1860[178]
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  Jewelery toilet of Empress Eugénie; by Jules Fossey; c.1860; unknown materials; unknown dimensions; Château de Compiègne, Compiègne, France
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  Candelabrum with eleven lights; by Ferdinand Barbedienne; 1861; gilt bronze; height: 83.7 cm, length: 49.4 cm; Napoleon III Apartments[179]
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  Exterior of the Palais Garnier, Paris, an example of Beaux Arts architecture, by Charles Garnier, 1860–1875[180]
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  Grand foyer of the Palais Garnier, inspired by the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles, but with some ornaments taken from other historical styles, like the neo-Renaissance column lower parts, or the Greek Revival lyres at the tops of windows, by Charles Garnier, 1860–1875[180]
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  Table; 2nd half of the 19th century; Boulle marquetry; unknown dimensions; in a temporary exhibition called "Dress Code Parfum de Secol XIX" at the Suțu Palace, Bucharest, Romania
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  Petit Palais, Paris, an example of Beaux Arts architecture, with Ionic columns very similar to those of the reign of Louis XIV, by Charles Giraud, 1900[181]

Highly criticized, the Baroque will later be a source of inspiration for artists, architects and designers during the 19th century through Romanticism, a movement that developed in the 18th century and that reached its peak in the 19th. It was characterized by its emphasis on emotion and individualism, as well as glorification of the past and nature, preferring the medieval to the classical. A mix of literary, religious, and political factors prompted late-18th and 19th century British architects and designers to look back to the Middle Ages for inspiration. Romanticism is the reason the 19th century is best known as the century of revivals.[182] In France, Romanticism was not the key factor that led to the revival of Gothic architecture and design. Vandalism of monuments and buildings associated with the Ancien Régime (Old Regime) happened during the French Revolution. Because of this an archaeologist, Alexandre Lenoir, was appointed curator of the Petits-Augustins depot, where sculptures, statues and tombs removed from churches, abbeys and convents had been transported. He organized the Museum of French Monuments (1795-1816), and was the first to bring back the taste for the art of the Middle Ages, which progressed slowly to flourish a quarter of a century later.[183]

This taste and revival of medieval art led to the revival of other periods, including the Baroque and Rococo. Revivalism started with themes first from the Middle Ages, then, towards the end of the reign of Louis Philippe (1830-1848), from the Renaissance. Baroque and Rococo inspiration was more popular during the reign of Napoleon III (1852-1870), and continued later, after the fall of the Second French Empire.[184]

Compared to how in England architects and designers saw the Gothic as a national style, Rococo was seen as one of the most representative movements for France. The French felt much more connected to the styles of the Ancien Régime and Napoleon's Empire, than to the medieval or Renaissance past, although Gothic architecture appeared in France, not in England.

The revivalism of the 19th century led in time to eclecticism (mix of elements of different styles). Because architects often revived Classical styles, most Eclectic buildings and designs have a distinctive look. Besides pure revivals, the Baroque was also one of the main sources of inspiration for eclecticism. The coupled column and the giant order, two elements widely used in Baroque, are often present in this kind of 19th and early 20th century buildings. Eclecticism was not limited only to architecture. Many designs from the Second Empire style (1848-1870) have elements taken from different styles. Little furniture from the period escaped its three most prevalent historicist influences, which are sometimes kept distinct and sometimes combined: the Renaissance, Louis XV (Rococo), and Louis XVI styles. Revivals and inspiration also came sometimes from Baroque, like in the case of remakes and arabesques that imitate Boulle marquetry, and from other styles, like Gothic, Renaissance, or English Regency.[185]

The Belle Époque was a period that begun around 1871–1880 and that ended with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. It was characterized by optimism, regional peace, economic prosperity, colonial expansion, and technological, scientific, and cultural innovations. Eclecticism reached its peak in this period, with Beaux Arts architecture. The style takes its name from the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where it developed and where many of the main exponents of the style studied. Buildings in this style often feature Ionic columns with their volues on the corner (like those found in French Baroque), a rusticated basement level, overall simplicity but with some really detailed parts, arched doors, and an arch above the entrance like the one of the Petit Palais in Paris. The style aimed for a Baroque opulence through lavishly decorated monumental structures that evoked Louis XIV's Versailles. When it comes to the design of the Belle Époque, all furniture from the past was admired, including, perhaps, contrary to expectations, the Second Empire style (the style of the proceeding period), which remained popular until 1900. In the years around 1900, there was a gigantic recapitulation of styles of all countries in all preceding periods. Everything from Chinese to Spanish models, from Boulle to Gothic, found its way into furniture production, but some styles were more appreciated than others. The High Middle Ages and the early Renaissance were especially prized. Exoticism of every stripe and exuberant Rococo designs were also favoured.[186]

Revivals and influence of the Baroque faded away and disappeared with Art Deco, a style created as a collective effort of multiple French designers to make a new modern style around 1910. It was obscure before WW1, but became very popular during the interwar period, being heavily associated with the 1920s and the 1930s. The movement was a blend of multiple characteristics taken from Modernist currents from the 1900s and the 1910s, like the Vienna Secession, Cubism, Fauvism, Primitivism, Suprematism, Constructivism, Futurism, De Stijl, and Expressionism. Besides Modernism, elements taken from styles popular during the Belle Époque, like Rococo Revival, Neoclassicism, or the neo-Louis XVI style, are also present in Art Deco. The proportions, volumes and structure of Beaux Arts architecture before WW1 is present in early Art Deco buildings of the 1910s and 1920s. Elements taken from Baroque are quite rare, architects and designers preferring the Louis XVI style.

At the end of the interwar period, with the rise in popularity of the International Style, characterized by the complete lack of any ornamentation led to the complete abandonment of influence and revivals of the Baroque. Multiple International Style architects and designers, but also Modernist artists criticized Baroque for its extravagance and what they saw as "excess". Ironically this was just at the same time as the critical appreciation of the original Baroque was reviving strongly.

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  550 Madison Avenue, New York, with a top broken pediment, reminiscent of those found in Baroque and at highboys, by Philip Johnson, 1981-1984[187]
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  Broken pediment of San Marcello al Corso, Rome, by Carlo Fontana, 1682-1683[188]
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  Dolphin Hotel, Orlando, Florida, US, with urn tops that are reminiscent of urns that decorate corners, tops and roof railings of buildings and furniture from the reign of Louis XIV, by Michael Graves, 1989[189]
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  Urns that decorate the roof railing of the Marble Court of the Palace of Versailles, Versailles, France, by Louis Le Vau and Jules Hardouin-Mansart, c. 1660-1715[190]
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  Hotel Zaandam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, inspired by Dutch 16th and 17th century canal houses, by Wam Architecten, 2010[191]
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  Herengracht no. 120, Amsterdam, unknown architect, c.1625[192]

Appreciation for the Baroque reappeared with the rise of Postmodernism, a movement that questioned Modernism (the status quo after WW2), and which promoted the inclusion of elements of historic styles in new designs, and appreciation for the pre-Modernist past.