Depictions of the Reformation in Art

Depictions of the re hotal in ArtThe corruption and immorality of the church service spurred the Christian Reform movement in atomic number 63, eventu anyy leading to the c years of civil war between Protestants and Catholics or the Protestant Reformation. The restoration- Reformation began with the Pope Paul IIIs c solelying of the Council of Trent in response to Protestant ascent this movement was initiated by the church services attempt to re-establish its power as the wholly aline Church of Christ age pacifying the current disorder as well. The human race of these two rivaling movements jeopardized the Roman Catholic Churchs absolute means in Europe, dividing it into the regions of the Protestant sum and Catholic mho. Influenced by these two oppose movements, the North and South branched out into different directions in terms of its culture and tasty manner of painting. They developed unique style of painting, depicting differing themes, styles, and contents esta blish on their dissimilar beliefs. What bring did the reform movements have on the paintings from the sulfur of the Alps, the magnetic unused-madeton of the Alps, and the Netherlands and were the inventionists from these regions enliven by each other despite the expiration in their styles? The paintings by the mechanics from the South of the Alps would most likely been influenced by the Counter- Reformation, term the works produced from the other two regions would reflect the influence of the Protestant Reformation due to their geographical locations. Therefore, the content and purpose of the works from these regions should differ but some similarities may exist in the nontextual matterificeists painting techniques beca handling it was putting green for cunningists to travel to Rome during this time. It is interesting to analyze how the style in sixteenth and seventeenth Century Europe was shaped by the spectral dissimilitude and the development of new ideas which were reflected in the paintings. Since it is inaccurate to generalize the whole European continent into only two sections, I decided to narrow pull down my topic by foc apply on the South of the Alps, the North of the Alps, and the Netherlands. I chose to study these regions because the South of the Alps was the center of Counter- Reformation strongly embraced by the Roman Catholic Church, while the North of the Alps was the birth target of the Protestantism. And the Netherlands was the hot bed for dispute between Calvinism and universality. I referred the Protestant Reformers as one group, choosing not to deal with the Protestant sectarianism, a division at bottom the Reformers due to the difference in their interpretation of the sacred texts, as agency of my research.The final spark of the Protestant Reformation was The Ninety-Five Theses written by Martin Luther in 1517. His work disclosed Churchs dishonesty, rousing doubts in messs minds about the Catholicism and alike the Churchs authority. His criticism of the sale of indulgences and the Roman Catholic clergys abuses quickly gain popularity among hoi polloi, regardless of their social standings and wealth, ultimately giving birth to Protestantism. Martin Luther condemned the sale of indulgences as a violation of the original meaning of confession and penance. Indulgence is the mildness of the temporal punishment for sins that have already been confessed. Reformers like Zwingli and Calvin had also commented on the corruptions within Church, but Luther was the one who introduced the radical idea of purifying the Christianity by physically breaking away from the Roman Catholic Church. The Luthers idea deal out rapidly finishedout the Europe, threatening the Roman Catholic Churchs established authority especially in the North.In addition to being known as the center of the Counter-Reformation, the South of the Alps was known as the center of rhetorical development as well. It was the place of pas sion and innovation with the overflow of new artistic styles eventually giving birth to the Italian conversion. The artists from all of the Europe visited Rome and were inspired by the unique Italian styles. Aside from the sophisticated styles of Italian rebirth, its content was often strictly phantasmal. The Roman Catholic Church attempted to re-establish the catholic faith among people by regulating the artworks produced. The gray cougars were forced to bring back the medieval tradition of producing strictly spectral art, branching off into the different direction from the blue painters.Scipione Pulzone was famous in Rome as the prototype of the southerly painters during this time period for his strictly religious paintings. The Lamentation, one of his most famous paintings, serves as the prime workout of the art commissioned by the Church. Painted in 1592 for the chapel of the dearest of Christ in the Jesuit church of Ges in Rome, this painting is distinctly influence d by the Counter- Reformation in that it demonstrates the new artistic style advocated by the holy council. The Crucifixion of the Christ is the focus of this art mend, drawing viewing audience attention directly to the idealistic image of Christ in the center. similar other conspiracyern painters during this time period, the artist propagated faith by depiction the lives of saints and Christ in a possible yet intensely striking manner. The careful expound, facial expressions, along with the shadows cast on people produce the lifelike characteristics. The depiction of the folds on peoples gowns is also note-worthy. The artist adds details such(prenominal) as tears of Virgin, the crown of thorns held by conjuration, and the pallor of the Christs body to demonstrate people in a more expressionistic manner. Moreover, the spotlight on the Christ in the center contributes an illusionistic and dramatic element to the painting which counter-balances the paintings realistic image . The light cast on the Christ, in comparison to the dark basis, creates about a theatrical impression. These characteristics represent the style of art in the south of the Alps during this period, also called the Italian conversion. Catholic Italy and Lutheran Germany shared in a lively commerceand the art of the sixteenth century in the north manifests the benefit of the deputize. Although the religious clash tormented the sixteenth century Europe, the exchange of artistic ideas continued to thrive.In the North, the intellectual shakeup of age-old faiths and opinions wide-awake the way for a new and nonreligious outlook on the world-the Enlightenment-when the rise of a scientific view of nature would challenge forever the dogmatisms of the erstwhile(prenominal), also called the blue Renaissance. However, the art of Union Europe during this period is also characterized by a sudden awareness of the advances made by the Italian Renaissance and by a desire to assimi previous(a ) this new style. In other words, while the content of the artworks produced in the North differ from those of the region south of the Alps, the style was similar. Many blue artists traveled to Rome to study the new art in firsthand and others were exposed to the Italian style of painting through the direct contact with the Italian artists who came to the north. The influence of the Italian art varied according to the artist, the time, and the place the northern artists generally kept their local traditions while adopting only single motifs or the general form of a composition. The Union painters in general moving away from depicting biblical scenes and false to painting mine run people in a commonplace displace can be inferred to have been influenced by the Protestant- Reformation. Especially in the north of the Alps, the artists quickly incorporated Italian style into their artworks while avoiding portrayal of religious themes.The famous work, The Battle of Issus, by Albrech t Altdorfer in 1529 is a colossal role model of a northern painting that diverges from the works produced in the regions south of the Alps. Albrecht Altdorfer represents the Donaustil (Danube Style), which depicts the ornament and stresses mood and passion. Although Altdorfers style is unique and personal, it still reflects the influence of Protestant- Reformation in that it eliminates depiction of religious themes. Moreover, his style clearly diverges from the style of painting prevailing in the regions of the south of the Alps. The painter gives a birds eye view of an alpine landscape painting as the setting and depicts the battle scene in which the b neglect lovage the Great overthrows the Persian King Darius. Instead of illustrating the strictly religious theme, the artist chooses to focus more on depicting the historical event. The crowd of people in comparison to the vast nature in the background suggests the rede theme of the insignificance of human life. He uses the va st nature in the background to signize the power of cosmos and the illuminating sky to represent the vast space. The slight trace of Italian Renaissance is shown by the meticulous details the painter uses for the image of Alexander the Great and the dramatic and illusionistic portrayal of the setting. in any case the idealistic impression of the artwork as a whole resembles that of the Italian Renaissance paintings.Another praise-worthy example of Northern painting is The ideal of capital of France by Lucas Cranach the Elder, who is the representative of German Protestant painting. This work is a great example of how his works shifted from religious to humanistic subject matter when he became a follower of Luther. His humanistic subject matters include mythology, history, and also portraits. The Judgment of Paris illustrates the scene from mythology in which the three goddesses boast off their beauties in front of Paris. The humanistic subject matter along with the background la ndscape reflects the classifiable characteristics of Northern paintings. The cupid in the painting serves as a symbol for love and affection while the German armor that Paris is wearable in the painting represents his social status as a sawhorse and his honor. The artist does not dress the goddesses after the antique manner. Cranachs composition featuring the nude person was inspired in an attempt to learn from the style of Italian Renaissance.The quadruplet Apostles by Albrecht Durer in 1526 is a remarkable northern painting that is stylistically influenced by Italian Renaissance. This art piece is unique in that the painter expresses his own religious and political testament, sympathizing the protestant cause and warning against the dangerous times, when religious, truth, justice, and the virtues all will be threatened. Unlike other Northern paintings, this piece does tame religious meanings, but it distinguishes itself from Italian paintings by eliminating any glorification of the Church. This piece was hung in the city hall, the four apostles typically representing the guardians of the city they are cautioning people against the sermons of false prophets who will misinterpret the word of God. The four apostles are symbolic representative of various ideas such as the four temperaments, of the human soul, and also the four ages of man. In this painting, Durers experience of traveling to Italy allows him to harmonize the two opposing styles of northern naturalism and southern monumentality. The realistic visualization of the four apostles reflects the northern naturalism while the monumentality of the figures along with the vivid use of color and dandy lighting mirror the Italian Renaissance. Durer, along with Cranach and Altdorfer, serves as an example of northern artist who illustrated contents related to Protestant-Reformation while incorporating styles of Italian Renaissance into his paintings.The Netherlands was the olympian region in North in w hich Calvinism and Catholicism co-existed. In the late 16th Century, the Northern Netherlands was able to break away from Spains influence, while the Southern Netherlands waited under the rule of Spain. Therefore, the Northern Netherlands eventually embraced Calvinism while the Southern Netherlands remained as supporters of Catholicism. It is important to realize that Dutch and Flemings were not predestined to become Calvinists and Catholics it was completely caused by the geographical and military circumstances. No curtain existed between the North and the South that forbid the exchange of ideas. In fact, Constantin Huygens, a diplomat and an art critic, referred to great painters of Amsterdam, Utrecht, and The Hague collectively as the painters of Netherlands. Therefore, it cannot be concluded that the Northern Netherlands was only influenced by Calvinist ideas, which also applies to the Southern Netherlands.In the early 17th Century Catholicism was suppressed and catholic churc hes were demolished due to the image breaker movement, but the protestantizing of the Northern Netherlands was still a slow process. Most artists chose to remain as Catholics, although exact number is hard to determine. However, the attempt to repair ravish caused by the iconoclast movement was not as extensive and as systematic in the North as in the South. The Northern Renaissance in the Netherlands took on a completely different form from the Italian Renaissance because the Church no overnight was the major patron in the North. Instead, the wealthy merchant middle class were the primary patrons of the art and thus, the Dutch masters painted small pictures for their small houses, not for the Cathedral altars. Since overlarge church commissions were no longer available, artists changed their styles in accordance to the taste of their new customers. The artists from the Netherlands specialized in intense realism, depicting lifelike features with an unflattering honesty, imperti nent the Italian Renaissance painters who specialized in idealism and simplicity. Therefore, the basis of art for the Northern Renaissance was observation while for the Italian Renaissance, it was theory. The Northern Renaissance in the Netherlands indirectly reflects the influence of Protestantism in that religious themes no longer prevailed in art, although more direct causes were the changing structure of the Netherlands economy and culture. The artworks produced in the 17th Century Netherlands were more conservative compared to those of Germany, concentrating on the nature and the past times of the prosperous Dutch merchants. The direct portraits, realistic still-lifes, landscapes, marine-scapes, and genre paintings presentation scenes of everyday life were popular subjects of the Dutch artists.A Scene on the Ice by Hendrick Avercamp in 1625 is an accurate representation of a typical Dutch style, illustrating the commonplace scene of people enjoying winter sports in the cool i t village of Kampen northeast of Amsterdam. His style clearly reflects the Northern Renaissances realism and its use of details, faithfully depicting the winter. He enhances his realistic rendering by using a frosty day to convey a sense of shrewdness the pearly gray tonality here becomes ever paler and the forms less distinct as they move into the distance. His work is unique in that it successfully portrays all classes of Dutch society through by using meticulous details, from the forgetful fisherman surveying the skater to the well-dressed ladies riding in an elegant sleigh set by a groom. This is the typical genre painting of Northern Renaissance departing itself from the religious influence of Roman Catholic Church of Italy.A seascape, along with landscape, also became very popular in Holland due to the rise of merchant class view of Dordrecht from the Dordtse Kil by Jan Van Goyen painted in 1644 serves is an telling seascape painting. The artist uses monochromatic phase, wh ich is a technique in which a single color dominates the painting, to unify each view of nature the princely brown aura dictates the scene, from the hazy clouds to the city skyline. He reached the summit of Northern realism by lowering the horizon to focus more on the atmospheric conditions overhead and by creating an illusion of standing on the opponent shore of the port. Unlike the Northern Netherlands, the Southern Netherlands was more influenced by the Counter Reformation than the Protestant Reformation. The Reborn Catholicism in Spain had an undeniable strike on the Southern Netherlands provinces. Moreover, France sent numerous religious orders and congregations to Spanish Netherlands in order to secure the Catholics authority.The disparity in the contents of the paintings resulted from the disagreement in Protestants and Catholics perspectives of the human relationship with god. Unlike the Protestants who claimed that humans are capable of having a direct communication with god, the Catholics argued that intermediaries, such as saints and the Virgin Mary, are immanent for humans to connect with god. Therefore, Catholics created artworks of saints, the Virgin Mary, and Jesus and gave reverence to them, as a way of getting closer to god. Although the Catholics asserted that they are not worshipping the intermediaries, the Protestants criticized this commit and led the iconoclastic movements. Iconoclasm is a deliberate destruction of religious icons and symbols within ones own culture for religious changes. The Protestants and Catholics conflict was caused by the difference in their perspectives of the sacred and secularwhile the Catholics maintained the clear separation of the two, the reformers recognize the connection between the two. Consequently, the Roman Catholic Church clergy advocated strictly religious and sacred artworks whereas the reformers preferred artworks depicting the lives of ordinary people. The Northern Protestant painters believed that an ordinary life could glorify God just as much as a life in the ministry since god created humans in His image, the rehabilitation artists claimed that they are glorifying god by portraying the natural beauty of his creation, in other words, the people. These differing ideas are well conveyed through the artworks produced from the regions south of the Alps, north of the Alps, and the Netherlands mentioned above. My thesis is partially proven to be correct in that Italian art was definitely influenced by the Counter- Reformation and that German art was influenced by the Protestant- Reformation. only contradicting to my statement, the Netherlands was influenced by both religious movements. According to the Art History professor Sarah Blick from Canyon University, the Counter- Reformation had a more direct influence on art produced after 1520s then the Protestant Reformation. Therefore, she suggested me focus on the lack of religious content in the artworks in order to stud y the influence of Protestant Reformation during her interview. Although artworks from each of these regions have distinct characteristics that set them apart, Italian style of painting frequently perceived in these artworks indicate that artists were inspired by each other. Because I had to narrow down my topic, many new questions emerged from my research. I am curious to know whether the various Protestantism had different influences on art. For this research, I referred to Protestants as one group but I unavoidableness to extend my research so that I can investigate on the influence of the Protestant Sectarianism on art.BibliographyMacCulloch, Diarmaid. The Reformation A History. upstart York Viking Adult, 2004. Print.The Annotated Mona Lisa. Missouri John Boswell Management, Inc., 1992. Print.Helen, Gardner,. Gardners art through the ages. 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