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What are the characteristics of Baroque art and architecture? | Britannica
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They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div></div> <div class="mt-20"> <div class="collection-content topic-paragraph"> <article class="content"><div class="font-serif"><p>The work that distinguishes the Baroque period is stylistically complex and even contradictory. Currents of naturalism and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Neoclassicism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Classicism</a>, for example, coexisted and intermingled with the typical Baroque style. In general, however, the desire to evoke emotional states by appealing to the senses, often in dramatic ways, underlies its manifestations. Some of the qualities most frequently associated with the Baroque are grandeur, sensuous richness, drama, dynamism, movement, tension, emotional exuberance, and a tendency to blur distinctions between the various arts.</p></div></article></div> </div> <div class="related-questions mb-30"> <h4 class="mb-15">Related Questions</h4> <ul class="list-unstyled"> <li class=""> <a class="p-15 mb-10 rounded text-black font-weight-semi-bold d-block" href="/question/Where-does-the-term-Baroque-come-from">Where does the term <em>Baroque</em> come from? </a> </li> <li class=""> <a class="p-15 mb-10 rounded text-black font-weight-semi-bold d-block" href="/question/How-did-Baroque-art-and-architecture-come-about">How did Baroque art and architecture come about? </a> </li> <li class=""> <a class="p-15 mb-10 rounded text-black font-weight-semi-bold d-block" href="/question/Which-artists-are-associated-with-the-Baroque-style">Which artists are associated with the Baroque style?</a> </li> <li class=""> <a class="p-15 mb-10 rounded text-black font-weight-semi-bold d-block" href="/question/How-did-the-Rococo-style-differ-from-the-Baroque">How did the Rococo style differ from the Baroque? </a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script> <!-- Ortto ebmwprod capture code --> <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"TopicTopQuestionsPage","templateName":"TOP_QUESTION","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":4,"pageId":null,"pageLength":null,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/topic-top-questions-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"A","adLeg":"A","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"TopicTopQuestionsPage","pageSubtype":"TOP_QUESTION","articleTemplateType":null,"gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>