A visual journey through faith and art
Italian Institute of Culture, 11 Fitzwilliam Square East, Dublin 2Monday-Friday from 11 am to 5 pm.This exhibition celebrates the Italian Baroque and presents a selection of artistic and architectural masterpieces produced during one of the most important, controversial and misunderstood periods of Italian and European art history. Italian Baroque, in stark contrast with the quiet symmetry and perfect geometric proportions of the Renaissance, was characterised by the use of the curved line, sinuous ellipses and spirals and by an exaltation of complex polycentric curves.
Astonishing in its complexity, the extreme virtuosities of its works were conceived to amaze and entertain. The Baroque was also exemplified by the horror vacui: every inch of the painted, sculptural or architectural surface was richly decorated and embellished, giving the whole a sense of density, dimensionality and lavish richness.The Baroque in Italy is presented through a charming and surprising collection of photographs, with a selection of regional examples from Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto, Tuscany, Emilia Romagna, Lazio, Campania, Basilicata, Sicily and Sardinia. There is a special concentration on Puglia, a veritable open-air museum of the most enchanting pieces of Baroque art, with particular attention to the most valuable architectural works in Foggia, Bari, Taranto, Brindisi, Lecce and their territory.
On the occasion of this exhibition we would like to invite the contemporary European visitor to celebrate with us the magnificence of the unconventional, creative, innovative beauty of the Baroque style in Italy.