Baroque Art: Beauty or Beast?

Recently I took a trip to Peterhof for art class to examine the different influences of 17th century architects. Peterhof is dominated by to art-forms, those being classical and Baroque, and moreso by the latter. After our excursion we were asked to write a short essay about what was Baroque and how it had influenced the design of the fantastic palace. I won't include the full essay, but here is an excerpt that seeks to define "Baroque" in and of itself (slightly edited of course):

There has been much debate over what ‘Baroque’ as a form of art and architecture, as well as a cultural movement in thought, really means. In fact, it is uncertain what the term might literally mean, but one common interpretation is “the pearl of irregular form”. Usually when someone had called something Baroque, they meant that there was something mysterious or irregular about it. The term first appeared in Italy and was commonly associated with things that looked ugly. One critic went even further saying it was the embodiment of all that was “decadent, ugly, and blemished.” Baroque style, in its very nature, opposes itself to everything classical. Indeed, it is downright offensive to the classical style. It was seen quite negatively in comparison, and again, that it is the effect of decadence in art. It was meant to be contradictory and strange all in an attempt to astonish, even shock, its audience. Baroque’s main objective was to leave a strong impression on all who chanced to gaze upon it.

A major shift in worldview had been in process in Europe and influenced much of was to become Baroque. The discoveries of Copernicus and Galileo in science were being recognized by nearly all artists and intellectuals. Isaac Newton’s work in physics and in finding out the laws of nature had so impressed on this epoch that people were left feeling directionless and without anyone to rely on as they once did the Church. The Christian world was no longer whole since reformation. With this in mind, Baroque had aimed its attack against reformation in the catholic world, much like that of the Jesuits. What Baroque wanted was for people to accept a work as a whole and not to be focused on the different directions or details of the work. This is what had distinguished Baroque as its own new and unique style.

Everything gets presented as so grand and complicated that it is hard to take in all at once. The techniques used are all done specifically to evoke a feeling of absurdity to the viewer, as if one had just entered a new reality.