This course explores the marvel and theatrical power of the Baroque period as it unfolds from Italy to France by examining how art, architecture, and sculpture were transformed into tools of emotion, persuasion, and spectacle. Beginning in Rome with the revolutionary works of artists and architects such as Caravaggio, Bernini, and Borromini, students will trace the rise of dynamic movement, dramatic light, and immersive space. The course then follows the Baroque as it travels north to France, where it is reshaped by royal authority and classical restraint in monuments like Versailles and the works of artists such as Poussin and Mansart. Through close study of masterpieces, urban design, and sacred spaces, students will discover how the Baroque sought to move the viewer—spiritually, emotionally, and politically—creating an artistic language of grandeur that still defines European visual culture today.