What is the Neo – Baroque? A Critical Reassessment

Abstract

The notion of ‘neo – baroque’ has been employed in the most diverse fields – from art history to philosophy, from media studies to cultural history – to describe a wide array of phenomena in contemporary culture that can be analysed in the light of 17th century’s baroque culture. This paper aims to reassess the heuristic value of this idea and interrogate its relevance for understanding today’s mediascape.

My talk will be divided into 3 sections. In section 1 I will discuss some of the most relevant definitions of the neo – baroque developed after the publication of Deleuze’s seminal essay Le pli: Leibniz et le baroque (1988). Section 2 will take the works of British artist and director Peter Greenaway as ideal case studies for exploring the return of the baroque in contemporary cinema. Section 3 will explore the possibility of developing a new theory of the neo – baroque by cross – fertilising and re – elaborating some of the theories developed over the last decades.