Original (pre-19th century) definition of “Baroque”: absurd, grotesque
Baroque disregarded the ancient rules of composition. Baroque painters like Frans Hals “knew how to attain the impression of balance without appearing to follow any rule” (Story of Art, 311).
With the baroque, art moves from the serene Middle Ages and Renaissance portraits of the Virgin Mary, to the painful ecstasies of Saint Teresa pierced by the golden arrow.
To me, baroque art looks like a wild and effortless balance. The balance of a jungle as opposed to the well organized home. The diagonals are invigorating. They cut you open. They strike, they impose. They imply that Heaven is glorious and ecstatic. That the Earth, though chaotic, is still ordered under God, still sensical.
