The two works shown below are emblematic of the emerging attitudes of the Baroque style, as seen through the works of the two primary proponents of the new style in Italy. On the left is Francesco Borromini’s St. Charles at the Four Fountains in Rome which is an early example of Baroque attitudes. Towards the end of the Renaissance style, we begin to see artists and architects taking greater liberties in ornamentation, and Borromini’s San Carlino represents the entering of new territory in his liberal application of the emerging attitudes. San Carlino is easily identifiable in the rhythm of the building’s façade, compared to the flat-feeling facades and carefully proportioned porticos of the high renaissance. Additionally, the building’s façade makes use of what would come to be one of the most recognizable features of Baroque style in the repetition of ovate forms. On the right, Bernini, shown here through his “David”, represents the other, perhaps more influential, pioneer of the Baroque style. Bernini’s sculpture is intimately tied with his legacy. The sculpture exaggerates the drama of the popular contrapposto posture to an extreme by conveying motion. Rhythm, and capturing movement go on to become core tenets of the emerging Baroque style, and Bernini is renowned for the immense drama and tension which he favored in his art. The two works of early Baroque pioneers are both emblematic of their contributions to the emerging style, which helped to solidly trends which would last for decades to come.
