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Explore the context of the Counter-Reformation and the subsequent growth and dissemination of the Baroque style, a new visual rhetoric – one full of drama, heroism and emotion – that proved a decisive alternative to Late Mannerism.
When Martin Luther published his 95 theses in 1517, it was not only a challenge to the perceived corruption of the Catholic Church, it was an act which prompted the transformation of the religious, socio-political, and artistic landscape of Europe. One of the most dynamic styles to emerge in the wake of the Counter-Reformation, the Baroque lasted a century and manifested differently in Italy, Spain, and France, where it produced the most extraordinary artists and architects including Caravaggio, Bernini, Velasquez, Poussin, and Borromini.