The Baroque period inspired many artisans in the 17th and 18th century throughout Europe. It was a stylistic movement that influenced painting, sculpture, and even Barroque tile for architectural purposes.
Barroque tile designs used many of the same principles as the movement, making use of the contrast between dark and light for dramatic effect while trying to capture a sense of movement via grand sweeping gestures.
This is an artistic style that is highly detailed and ornate and instantly makes you think of the glory of the Renaissance in Italy. In Portugal, there are still many old buildings covered in "azulejos" (a type of Baroque tile) that were blue and white, highly detailed, and very dramatic.
However, even modern versions of black and white Barroque tile designs are similarly entrancing and lively, giving off an Old World charm with a modern twist.
Here are 10 examples from the Barroque collection that you simply must see!
#1 Dramatic Lond
This tile has a heavy contrast with an ornate look. There is no way you can ignore this tile design and it hardly is a wall flower. It reminds you of an Oriental rug, with layers of design intricacy, and such visual complexity is standard for
Baroque designs.
Lond - View Details / Get Quote »
The overall effect would look something like
this wall, once installed. Notice how the tile was paired with modern light fixtures and ornamentation to bring it forward into the modern era.
Black and White Pattern Bathroom - View Details / Get Quote »
#2 Exotic Dunka
You can get a high contrast by having a lot of white space around the ornate scrolled design, as in this
Dunka tile. The design is reminiscent of Islamic tiles found in Moroccan sites, like the Alhambra, which also were influenced by the Baroque period. This gives them an exotic, mysterious, feel.
Dunka - View Details / Get Quote »
#3 Dainty Quer
Something along the same lines, but daintier, is the
Quer tile. It even includes some floral motifs, which were favored in Renaissance art. There are plenty of scrolls, but a little less exotic, and more leaf-like. It has an almost Victorian vibe.
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#4 Bold Kinba
This design even looks like two arms held up to show off its muscles. The wavy lines surrounding this
central motif make the design wavy, evoking as sense of movement. This would have greatly appealed to artists from the Baroque period who were always interested in capturing the dynamic nature of a scene.
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#5 Bouquet-Like Vist
Almost like a fruit bowl or flower arrangement, this
Vist tile has a central focus of ornamented leaves and a highly stylized flower bud. It almost feels like it is blooming in front of you. However, it is a highly stylized version of a bouquet, meant to inspire the sense of familiarity and comfort.
Vist - View Details / Get Quote »
#6 Paisley Tedor
You really can't get more elaborate or detailed than a paisley design. In this age of the microscope, it almost feels like you are looking at a bunch of vibrant amoebas sliding past you. In that way, it reminds you of life and art at the same time.
This pattern would be very appropriate in a highly modern bathroom.
Tedor - View Details / Get Quote »
#7 Classic Moor
This is a flowing and graceful pattern full of luscious dark blooms. It is a
classic Barroque tile pattern and would produce an elegant effect in any room. What makes it especially delightful is the way the marble stone tile background adds even more detailing with the natural veins of the stone.
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#8 Lacey Lalma
Even dramatic patterns in high contrast can be as fine as a lace pattern. Take a look at this
Lalma pattern with its filigreed tendrils and intricate blooms. It would look stunning and produce a romantic air to any room.
Lalme - View Details / Get Quote »
#9 Ghostly Suspir
One of the themes of the Baroque aesthetic was the idea of "other-worldliness." This could be viewed most vividly in celestial and religious themed works of art. This
Suspir tile would have appealed to Baroque artisans because of its ethereal quality.
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#10 Dimensional Tocca
To make that other world more apparent, artisans might put it next to something that gives it dimensional reality. This is probably my favorite
Barroque tile because of the way it captures all of the aesthetic of light contrast versus dark, elaborate romanticism, and a ghostly, almost spiritual, dimension by the play of light against dark. It gives the tile depth and an almost a textured feel.
Tocca - View Details / Get Quote »
Go Bold with Baroque!
If you've ever walked into a Renaissance church in Europe, you have probably already been exposed to Baroque architecture and art. This movement swept through Europe because of its grand goals to create awe-inspiring spaces that were decked out to the maximum. In combination with the ideal to elevate people spiritually, through the play of light and dark, it evoked feelings of romanticism, other-worldliness, and grandeur.
These same aesthetics have been updated for the modern home to make for very striking motifs that include elaborate florals, undulating wave forms and spirals, and vibrating abstracts, like paisley. Movement was key to the Baroque movement and with the contrast of light against dark can be seen and felt in modern tiles as well.
The Barroque collection of tiles does justice to this ambitious art movement by bringing back patterns on marble tile that inspire with their bold, dramatic, flair, in some cases, and with their whispy ethereality, in other cases. The play of light against dark makes these designs almost vibrate with liveliness. In total, Baroque is supposed to impact and almost overpower the senses to create a specific mood, which each tile does above by virtue of its design.
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