which emphasized unity of composition and context, rich color, emphasis on theatrical drama, and robust, monumental interacting figures Painters in the Dutch Republic such as Vermeer (1632–75) introduced realism, using themes from everyday, contemporary life and giving great attention to faithfully reproduced detail In Spain, Velázquez (1599–1660), Murillo (1618–82), Zurbarán, and Cotán created genre scenes and still life Baroque relief sculpture and sculpture-in-the-round emphasized action and theatricality, employed a single optimal viewpoint, and often depended on context for interpretation Bernini (1598–1680), considered the greatest sculptor of the baroque era, worked in Rome and sculpted single, dramatic moments that expressed the subject’s inner psychology Architects of the baroque era, notably Bernini and Francesco Borromini (1588–1667) in Italy, Sir Christopher Wren (1632–1723) in England, Jules Hardouin-Mansart (1646–1708) and Louis Le Vau (1612–70) in France, and Johann Michael Fischer von Erlach (1656–1723) and Balthasar Neumann (1687–1753) in central Europe, created large, impressive buildings with an emphasis on complete spatial integration, in which all architectural elements work together to form a unified whole Architects altered the planar, horizontal facades of the Renaissance style, embellishing outer facades with central bay projections, freestanding columns, niches, and classical ornament, which emphasized verticality and allowed light and shadow to play across the surface and enhance the sculptural effect of the monumental structures Architects developed circular, elliptical, elongated cross, and octagonal ground plans for religious and secular buildings Architects often crowned these baroque structures with an interior dome, employed illusory interior trompe l’oeil effects, and made use of opulent ornament to intensify the dramatic experience for the viewer Musicians of the baroque era, such as Bach (1685– 1750), Handel (1685–1759), Vivaldi (1678–1741), and Monteverdi (1567–1643), developed a contrapuntal style of imitative counterpoint, harmony, and elaborate ornamentation and popularized opera In literature, the English metaphysical poets explored metaphor and paradox, authors focused on allegory and metaphor, and the novel form gained in popularity Further reading: Bazin, Germain Baroque and Rococo New York: Thames and Hudson, 1985; Held, Julius, and Donald Posner Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Art Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall; Kitson, Michael The Age Bible traditions 39 of Baroque London: Hamlyn, 1966; Martin, John Rupert Baroque New York: Harper & Row, 1977; Tapie, Victor-L The Age of Grandeur New York: Grove Press, 1960; Toman, Rolf Baroque Architecture, Sculpture, Painting Cologne: Konemann, 1998; Wölfflin, Heinrich Renaissance and Baroque Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1984 Alecia Harper Bible traditions The sources surrounding the earliest manuscripts of the Bible are vast and varied In the first five centuries of the New Testament text, for example, the Bible was copied by hand in stylish capital letters called uncials, but in the next five centuries it was copied in lowercase letters called minuscules Thus, there were different text forms, to say nothing of the variations caused by human copying in the first thousand years of the written biblical tradition In 1454 Johann Gutenberg put an end to textual diversity when he invented a new form of printing press In one fell swoop he standardized the Bible that a community would use for its reading The question Jews and Christians faced, however, was which Bible text they should use as the Textus Receptus (“received text” or standard, TR) for all printings of the Bible The Jewish Bible (Old Testament) was not hard to standardize because the rabbis used a version going back to the first millennium c.e called the Masoretic Text (MT) The MT kept variations to a minimum by strictly controlling the reading and the use of the Bible, though even here the most careful copying could not prevent ambiguities and errors to slip in As time went on and more discoveries were made, it became clear that the MT indeed was the TR, but there were other less-influential rival texts used by Jews in various places and times The first printed version based on the MT was the Venice edition of 1524–25, done by Daniel Bomberg and edited by Jacob ben Hayyim This Bible was dominant among Jews until the 20th century At that time scholars began using the Leningrad Codex because it reflected the MT from a single and self-consistent editor Matters were more complicated with the Christian Bible (New Testament) Here there are thousands of Greek manuscripts, quotations from the fathers of the church, and ancient versions Research on which text was “correct” and therefore to be standardized for the religious community began as early as Origen (185–254)