At the Basle Gate, the baroque patrician Madame de Coin welcomes all participants. It is necessary to remember to bring the passport, the bollete. Because anyone who does not come from clean air is suspected of coming from a city stricken with plague or cholera and will be mercilessly rejected.
But not only air, also water is considered a carrier of diseases. Because sewage treatment plants are still unknown, water is avoided as much as possible for hygienic reasons. Personal hygiene with water, washing hands and hair are disease and death traps. Instead of washing, the hair on the head is powdered or covered with a luxuriant wig. Underneath, life is bustling.
But baroque life is not just parasites. Baroque is joie de vivre. Social life is also exuberantly celebrated. At the Ambassadors' Court there is a party almost every evening. Torches, candles, tables, music, dancing and love affairs mingle to create an exuberant joie de vivre. However, precise rules apply. Every movement of the feet and hands, every facial expression, every posture of the fan, whether closed, half or fully open, whether in front of the face, the chest or the fertility point, signifies invitation, indifference or rejection. And the dance follows a precise, sophisticated choreography. A life full of pleasure and joy - unless you are a gardener, cook or maid.
No other age is so characterized by lust and suffering in extreme proportions. Toasts and booze culture take over - Renaissance people would have blanched at the quantities baroque people drink and eat. Vermin and filth besiege people and cities, and in all of this, baroque people celebrate with a lust for life that deserves admiration. Those interested can let Marie-Christine Egger take them back to this age.
Note: This text was translated by machine translation software and not by a human translator. It may contain translation errors.
