The Baroque style, popular in the 17th and 18th centuries, began in Italy and quikly spread to the rest of Europe. Characterised by luxury, drama and ornate detail, the style impacted upon all areas of art and design. In 2010, the V&A hosted the major exhibition ‘Baroque 1620-1800: Style in the Age of Magnificence’..
Style Guide: Baroque
The exuberant Baroque style originated in Italy and influenced all of Europe. English designers found new ideas in printed books of Continental ornament. A sense of drama a…
Read article
Baroque: The First Global Style
Baroque was the first style to have a significant worldwide impact. It spread from Italy and France to the rest of Europe, then travelled via European colonies, missions an…
Read article
Baroque Palaces
The mid-17th century saw the start of a 100-year-long surge of palace-building unmatched before or since. All over Europe, absolutist regimes, from Russia to Portugal, buil…
Read article
The Church and the Baroque
The patronage of the Roman Catholic Church was fundamental to the Baroque style. Promoted by generations of popes, cardinals, priests, missionaries, worshippers and lay-pat…
Read article
Secular Spaces and the Baroque
Theatre was important during the Baroque period not only for its magnificence and entertainment, but also for its potential use as propaganda. Rulers vied to outdo each oth…
Read article
Ceramics for the Baroque Court
Baroque was the dominant decorative style of Europe in the 17th and early 18th centuries. It was characterised by bold, curved forms, naturalistic detailing and intricate f…
Read article
Baroque Music
Music was central to public and domestic life in the Baroque. Baroque music fits closely to the cultural and physical environment of its world.
Read article
Videos: Baroque objects
Watch the assembly of the Leeds Centrepiece and liturgical objects from the Church of São Roque, Lisbon
Read article
The Marlborough Ewer and Basin
These spectacular pieces are of supreme importance, for their historical connections, their superb quality and their rarity. Marked 1711-12, they were made by Elie Pacot, a…
Read article
A gift in your will
You may not have thought of including a gift to a museum in your will, but the V&A is a charity and legacies form an important source of funding for our work. It is not just the great collectors and the wealthy who leave legacies to the V&A. Legacies of all sizes, large and small, make a real difference to what we can do and your support can help ensure that future generations enjoy the V&A as much as you have.
MoreShop online
The Cult of Beauty: The Aesthetic Movement 1860-1900
The Cult of Beauty focuses on a period at the end of the nineteenth century when a group of artists, architects and designers found themselves linked …
Buy nowEvent - High Renaissance to Baroque 1500-1720 13/14
Wed 18 September 2013 10:45
YEAR COURSE: Study the art, architecture and decorative arts of Europe from the High Renaissance to Baroque, focussing on Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands and England.
Wednesdays, 18 September 2013 - 9 July 2014 (over 3 terms), 11.10-15.30
