Overview

Beginning in the 1580s and ending as late as 1750 in some Northern European regions, the Baroque artistic era began as an artistic recoil to the stylizations of Mannerist art and as a means of implementation of the demands of the Counter-Reformation Church that sought to restore its religious preeminence in the Western world in the face of the Protestant threat. As a result, Rome, the seat of the papacy, became the cradle of Baroque art, and masters from other parts of the Italian peninsula flocked to the region in the hopes of obtaining artistic commissions. The Historical Dictionary of Baroque Art and Architecture relates the history of the Baroque Era through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and over 500 cross-referenced dictionary entries on such icons as Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Caravaggio, Annibale Carracci, Diego Velazquez, Peter Paul Rubens, Rembrandt van Rijn, and Johannes Vermeer, as well as sculptors, architects, patrons, other historical figures, and events.

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9780810861558

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Reviews

Recommended for academic and art-museum libraries. Booklist The best feature of this dictionary is the convenience of having a large amount of useful information in one volume. Its reasonable size will appeal to college students not specializing in the period but needing to read or write about the baroque. Library Journal This historical dictionary by Zirpolo (independent scholar) offers a thorough overview of the art historical period that spans roughly the late 16th through the early 18th centuries. In addition to the dictionary itself, comprising over 500 cross-referenced entries, the volume features a chronology, an introductory essay, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary entries focus on the major names of the period, particularly artists (Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Peter Paul Rubens), patrons (Pope Urban VIII, Charles II of Spain), and notable works of art and architecture, as well as subjects often depicted in the period (St. Teresa of Avila, Hercules). The dictionary also covers significant events (the Council of Trent, the Thirty Years War) and critical terms (Neoplatonism, pediment). Only minimal black-and-white illustrations are featured, though a list of image resources is included in the bibliography. It is organized into broad subjects, including artist biographies and other texts, academies and art training, art patronage, and significant studies focusing on the baroque art of particular countries. This work is an excellent introduction to the people, events, and works of art of this rich art historical period. Summing Up: Highly recommended CHOICE

Recommended for academic and art-museum libraries. Booklist The best feature of this dictionary is the convenience of having a large amount of useful information in one volume. Its reasonable size will appeal to college students not specializing in the period but needing to read or write about the baroque. Library Journal This historical dictionary by Zirpolo (independent scholar) offers a thorough overview of the art historical period that spans roughly the late 16th through the early 18th centuries. In addition to the dictionary itself, comprising over 500 cross-referenced entries, the volume features a chronology, an introductory essay, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary entries focus on the major names of the period, particularly artists (Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Peter Paul Rubens), patrons (Pope Urban VIII, Charles II of Spain), and notable works of art and architecture, as well as subjects often depicted in the period (St. Teresa of Avila, Hercules). The dictionary also covers significant events (the Council of Trent, the Thirty Years War) and critical terms (Neoplatonism, pediment). Only minimal black-and-white illustrations are featured, though a list of image resources is included in the bibliography. It is organized into broad subjects, including artist biographies and other texts, academies and art training, art patronage, and significant studies focusing on the baroque art of particular countries. This work is an excellent introduction to the people, events, and works of art of this rich art historical period. Summing Up: Highly recommended CHOICE Baroque art and architecture in particular shows a tendency to voluble and lengthy descriptions...concerning works of art, often reserving separate entries for them. Art Libraries Journal

Author Information

Lilian H. Zirpolo is the author of Historical Dictionary of Renaissance Art (Scarecrow 2008); co-founder and president of the WAPACC Organization; and co-founder, co-editor, and co-publisher of Aurora, The Journal of the History of Art.

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