Roman Baroque

by Anthony Blunt

The Baroque, for many the most thrilling architectural style ever created, was born in Rome and reached its apogee in the work of three geniuses—Gianlorenzo Bernini, Francesco Castello Borromini, and Pietro Berretini da Cortona. Perhaps the greatest student of the Baroque was Anthony Blunt, who spent a lifetime studying and teaching the history of the buildings and their importance to us now. This elegant and concise introduction to the style and its flowering in Rome was first published in an anthology of essays in 1978, and represents a summation of his work. Many of the ravishing images included have not been republished since the beginning of the 18th century.

128 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2002

About the author

Known as Sir Anthony Blunt, KCVO, from 1956 to 1979, was a leading British art historian who in 1964, after being offered immunity from prosecution, confessed to having been a Soviet spy. A closely held secret for many years, his status was revealed publicly by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in November 1979, and he was stripped of his knighthood immediately thereafter.
Blunt was Professor of the History of Art at the University of London, director of the Courtauld Institute of Art, and Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures. He was exposed as a member of the Cambridge Five, a group of spies working for the Soviet Union from some time in the 1930s to at least the early 1950s.