The mother of all coffee table books?

The text of this book is boring, tedious and frequently gets bogged down in little details.

So why did I give it five stars?

It's because of the photos! The book is 500 pages long, and there are literally hundreds of full-color photographs of Baroque palaces, cathedrals, paintings and sculptures. The book pages are very large, and this makes the photos large and detailed as well. But the most sensational thing is the price: only 25 dollars for the hardback edition! Trust me, a book like this usually goes for 100 dollars or more. Perhaps it's subsidized by some UN agency? (A caveat: Since the book is very heavy, the postage might be larger than average.)

Rolf Toman's "Baroque" is probably mostly directed at students of European art and architecture. As already noted, the text quickly gets tedious for the non-specialist, with details of 17th century Italian architects and the popes who paid their barbills. However, the stunning illustrations make the book an excellent birthday or Christmas gift even for general readers. I bought the Swedish translation for my mother last Christmas.

In a sense, this is the mother of all coffee table books. If you have it on your coffee table or book shelf, you will be sure to impress your friends. Just don't tell them you got it at bargain price!

The Baroque is a period in West European art history that began around AD 1600 and ended around AD 1750. Versailles in France is the most well-known example of Baroque architecture. Many churches and palaces in Rome are considered Baroque. The Baroque even spread to South and Central America, due to the Spanish and Portuguese conquests.

Rolf Toman's book concentrates on French, Italian, Spanish and German architecture. There are shorter chapters on the other European nations, and an even shorter chapter on colonial Baroque. Further, the book contains sections on Baroque painting and sculpture, with exquisite photos of 17th and 18th century paintings from various European museums. The notorious Rococo style is mentioned only in passing.

The Baroque has been much maligned. It's ostentation, connections to royal absolutism and Catholic counter-reformation, and supposed evolution into the Rococo, all has come up for criticism. And yes, the Early Modern Period wasn't a particularly happy one. I mean, the French revolution didn't exactly fall from the skies! Still, from an aesthetic point of view, the art of the period seems grossly underrated.

Recommended.