The baroque period occurred in the 1600s. The artistic movement originated in Italy, then spread to the rest of Europe. The Protestant reformation and religious upheaval dominated the era. During this time, European empires controlled most of the known world, and those empires possessed a great deal of wealth as a result of their vast holdings. Money and power influenced the baroque movement significantly. Works were rich and elaborate, and created to demonstrate the social standing of Europe's most prominent luminaries.
Baroque artists worked with several media, most notably oil painting, sculpture, architecture and music. The architecture of this time is some of the most elaborate ever created, with an emphasis on columns and sculpted ornamentation. The Trevi Fountain in Rome and the Palace of Versailles in France are two enduring examples of the baroque style. Baroque music is arguably the period's most iconic artistic medium. Many of the most renowned composers who ever lived worked during this time, including Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frederic Handel, Antonio Vivaldi and Johann Pachelbel.
Religion was the most dominant theme of the period, specifically, the Catholic church. In response to the Protestant reformation, the Catholic church commissioned, endorsed and encouraged many works which depicted religious imagery in keeping with the Catholic ideology. A substantial number of the great baroque architectural masterpieces were cathedrals. Composers wrote much of their music for nonsecular use. Religious themes dominated paintings and sculpture as well.
In addition to the religious themes of the Baroque movement, still life paintings were also common. The color palette for these works was dark but rich, executed with a lot of black, gold, red and orange. Baroque imagery in all works was strong, direct and often elaborate. Artists executed pieces with a flair for the dramatic. In modern times, the term baroque is used to describe something as elaborate, heavily ornamented and possibly with a dark color palette.