When did Baroque art and architecture emerge in Italy?

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Artemisia Gentileschi: Judith with Her Maidservant — Baroque art and architecture *Judith with Her Maidservant*, oil painting by Artemisia Gentileschi, 1618–19; at the Pitti Palace, Florence.

Baroque art and architecture emerged in Italy during the late 16th century.1

This stylistic shift was largely driven by the Counter-Reformation, as the Catholic Church sought to engage the faithful through art and architecture that emphasized emotion, sensory appeal, and drama. In architecture, the work of Carlo Maderno in Rome—specifically his design for the facade of Santa Susanna around 1597—is considered the first pure statement of the principles that defined the Baroque style.12

In painting, the transition away from the Mannerist style began in the final decades of the 16th century. By the first decade of the 17th century, the influence of artists such as Caravaggio and Annibale Carracci had established the foundations for the Baroque movement in Rome.3