<P> The Baroque ( US : / bəˈroʊk / or UK : / bəˈrɒk / ) is a highly ornate and often extravagant style of architecture , art and music that flourished in Europe from the early 17th until the late 18th century . It followed the Renaissance style and preceded the Neoclassical style . It was encouraged by the Catholic Church as a means to counter the simplicity and austerity of Protestant architecture , art and music , though Lutheran Baroque art developed in parts of Europe as well . The baroque style used contrast , movement , exuberant detail , grandeur and surprise to achieve a sense of awe . The style began in the first third of the 17th century in Rome , then spread rapidly to France , northern Italy , Spain and Portugal , then to Austria and southern Germany . By the 1730s , it had evolved into an even more flamboyant variant , called rocaille or Rococo , which appeared in France and central Europe until the late 18th century . </P>
when did the baroque period start and end
from the early 17th until the late 18th century