Baroque is an art movement or art style of the Counter-Reformation in the 17th and 18th centuries that followed mannerism and is characterized by ornate detail. In architecture, the Baroque period is typified by the palace of Versailles and by the work of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, (1598-1680) in Italy. Although some features of Baroque also appear in Dutch art, the Baroque style was limited mainly to countries that were under the influence of the Catholic Church. In essence, Baroque is a style in which painters, musicians, sculptors, and architects sought emotion, movement, and variety in their works.

Influential Baroque composers include Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), George Frederick Handel (1685-1759), and Lucio Vivaldi (1678-1741), and famous Baroque painters include Caravaggio (1571-1610) and Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640).