Baroque as a crossroads of meanings and a space of metamorphoses (part 1)

The article is devoted to the analysis of the baroque phenomenon, the assessment of which is still debatable. The author dwells on two dominant points of view in the study of the Baroque Baroque as a norm and Baroque as a departure from the canon emphasizing that the research focus in its assessment is built in accordance with these positions. Further, the article systematizes data on the etymology of the term «Baroque», on the time of fixing it as a name for one of the periods of culture of the 17th century. The author emphasizes that Baroque art seeks to comprehend the drama of what is happening, the collapse of the ideals formed by the Renaissance with their reliance on faith in the power of reason and the greatness of man, which produces the appearance within its boundaries of a special type of personality a heroic hedonistic person. However, hedonism during this period is not only secular in nature, but also clashes with the religious schism that occurred during the Reformation. The heroism of the baroque man lies in his efforts to establish the coherence of the unstable world, which is falling apart into fragments, therefore the art of the 17th century, reflecting the picture of the world of its time, elevates movement (as a symbol of the transforming and restless universe) and struggle (in the broadest sense) into a cult. The feeling of alienation of the baroque man from himself gives rise to the need for identification, in the search for identity to himself, in finding his own boundaries. In the conclusion of the article, it is indicated that in the baroque there is a clear tendency to mix genres, play with genres, interest in fragmentation and mechanism, and this makes it similar to the principles of shaping and existence of contemporary art.