An alternative spelling or Italian form of 'baroque,' referring to the ornate, elaborate artistic style that flourished in Europe from the 1600s to early 1700s.
From Italian/Spanish 'barocco,' possibly derived from Portuguese 'barroco' (an irregularly shaped pearl). The term was initially pejorative, used by later critics to mock the excessive ornamentation of the style.
Renaissance scholars literally called this style 'the oddly-shaped pearl' style as an insult—but now we recognize it as one of history's most emotionally powerful artistic movements!
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