Baroque art can be described as a “distinctive new style” in which artists embraced “dynamism, theatricality, and elaborate ornamentation, all used to spectacular effect, often on a grandiose scale.” Baroque art includes a wide range of artworks, from Italian dramatic and theatrical pieces, as the quote suggests, to the simpler and more everyday, but still fabulous, Dutch pieces. Baroque art can hardly be contained in one description because it describes so many types of art, largely due to the religious, socioeconomic and political scenes of the time. Religiously, the Catholic Church was responding to the Reformation by creating dramatic pieces to invoke piety and devotion. Politically, monarchies and rulers used commissioned art to emphasize their authority and right to rule. Socioeconomically, the middle class was growing and therefore wished to purchase and commission works of art to enhance their reputation and validate their status in the social scene. These three changes were extremely significant but can in no way generalize the entire historical context of Baroque art. Instead, they represent specific examples of important reasons for the scope and breadth of Baroque art. During the 17th century and the Baroque period, the Catholic Church launched a Counter-Reformation in retaliation to the Protestant Reformation. The Catholic Church suffered a setback in 1648 with the Treaty of Westphalia which recognized religious freedoms and seemingly validated Protestant beliefs. They continued to be staunch supporters of the arts, perhaps even more than before, to restore the validity and supreme authority of the Catholic Church. In the mid-17th century, Gianlorenzo Bernini r...... middle of paper ......t are because the Baroque period encompasses so many different types of art with very few similarities. These religious, political, and socioeconomic aspects, along with many others, facilitated the breadth of Baroque art. Baroque art can range from theatrical, dramatic and ornate to simple and monochromatic, simply depending on the artist, the client and the context. Baroque art varies so much because it encompasses so many countries and areas in a short amount of time. Although the countries included in the baroque label share many qualities and characteristics, each is different and went through its own failures and successes. As failures and successes varied from country to country, so did the art, as each country chose to represent this time period in a way that they believed would preserve their ideals for future generations..