'The Rome and Baroque Art Exhibition' comes to Beijing

The Rome and Baroque Art Exhibition opened at the National Museum of China on Wednesday. Following in the footsteps of The Florence and Renaissance Exhibition held two years ago, the exhibit is part of the Chinese and Italian governments' five-year cultural cooperation agreement.

The exhibition includes Italian paintings, sculptures and artworks, 50 works in total, selected from over 10 famous Italian museums and galleries.

Baroque Art was a popular style in the 17th century. As the seminary of Baroque Art, Rome was the center of the art world of not only Italy, but also Europe at the time.

Giorgio Leone, curator of the National Gallery of Ancient Art of Corsini Palace in Italy and also art historian, held a lecture about Baroque Art at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing on Monday.

He explained that the term Baroque came into use during the 18th century, much later than the style it described. Originally somewhat negative, it refers to a dramatic, complicated and heavy style of art.

Leone explained that when Christopher Columbus made Europe aware of the existence of the Americas and later in the 17th century when Galileo Galilei confirmed that the Earth circles the Sun, people had to accept that they were no longer the center of the universe.

As such one of the ideas behind the Baroque style is that humans are no longer the center of everything.

"In this sense, Baroque is modern," said Leone.

Running from Wednesday to February 28, 2015, the exhibition is divided into three parts: art works leading to the Baroque period, Baroque period paintings and finally Baroque period sculptures.

Works by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Annibale Carracci and Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini will all be included.

Although Caravaggio is not classified as a Baroque artist, many of his paintings show characteristics containing features of the Baroque style.

This is the first time these artworks have come to China.

Alongside the exhibition other events such as concerts, film screenings and public lectures will be held at the museum.