Baroque

Baroque (Portuguese barroco, 'a rough, irregular pearl'), originally a mere jewellers' term, but soon extended in sense, and applied in art to ornamental designs of an extravagant or incongruous character. The style followed the Renaissance in Italy, and was much in vogue from the middle of the 16th to the end of the 18th century. Aiming at surprises and general oddness, baroque depends entirely on the fancy and caprice of the architect, and, by means of over-accentuation and distortion of all straight lines, produces an effect often bold and ingenious, and sometimes picturesque, but always opposed to the established rules of art. Like Rococo (q.v.), the term baroque is often used to indicate bad taste somewhat generally.