South Baroque 1580 - 1680

The term "baroque"commonly used to describe the historical period and the artistic style that developed in southern Europe in the seventeenth century. Although this is primarily due to the dynamic composition and heightened sense of drama, this exhibition shows that in fact the Baroque period encompassed a wide range of artistic styles, from naturalistic to emotional, as demonstrated by Velazquez, Murillo and El Greco.

In the same period a more restrained classical style appeared, contrasted with the bright elements of the Baroque style; especially associated with French artists Nicolas Poussin and Claude Lorrain, their work made a fundamental contribution to the development of landscape painting, which is also represented at this exhibition.