What Role Was Art Intended to Play in the Counter Reformation

Ecstasy of Saint Teresa (1647-52)
Past Giovanni Bernini.
Cornaro Chapel,
Santa Maria della Vittoria.

Evolution OF VISUAL Art
For details of art movements
and styles, run into: History of Art.
For chronological details, meet:
History of Fine art Timeline.

What is Roman Cosmic Counter-Reformation Fine art?

The term "Cosmic Counter-Reformation fine art" describes the more stringent, doctrinal mode of Christian art which was developed during the menstruation c.1560-1700, in response to Martin Luther's defection against Rome (1517) and the Protestant Reformation art which followed. This stricter manner of Catholic Biblical art - launched by the Quango of Trent (1545-63) - was designed to highlight the theological differences between Catholicism and Protestantism, by focusing on the mysteries of the religion, as well as the roles of the Virgin Mary and the Saints. It was supposed to revitalize Cosmic congregations beyond Europe, thus minimizing the furnishings of the Protestant defection. To inject momentum into its campaign, the Roman Church - aided past the newly-formed Jesuit club, as well as wealthy pious individuals - began commissioning new architecture, works of altarpiece art (mostly large-scale oil paintings), inspirational church fresco paintings, and major pieces of ecclesiastical sculpture and woods carving. Staunch supporters of the Catholic Counter-Reformation and its religious art included Italy, Kingdom of spain and its colonies of Flanders and Naples, likewise as southern Frg. Its leading exponents were therefore Italian Baroque artists similar Caravaggio, Pietro da Cortona, Bernini, and Andrea Pozzo; the schoolhouse of Spanish Painting, such as El Greco, Ribera and Francisco de Zurbaran; and the Flemish master Peter Paul Rubens.

History: The Reformation; The Turn down in Spirituality of Art

Two important factors shaped the fine art of the Cosmic Counter-Reformation, during the 16th and 17th centuries. Kickoff, a growth in the level of corruption within the Roman Catholic Church, from the Pope down. It was this abuse (specifically the sale of indulgences to finance the renovation of St Peter's in Rome), overseen past Pope Leo X (1513-21), that caused Luther to launch his Protestant rebellion.

The 2d factor was artistic though it, also, reflected a similar spiritual turn down. During the 15th century, Early Renaissance painting commissioned by the Church or its Christian followers, gradually became less and less religious. The Tornabuoni Chapel frescoes (1485–90), for instance, by Domenico Ghirlandaio, seem to be more focused on the details of conservative city life than on their actual subjects, the Life of the Virgin and that of John the Baptist. As well, secular priorities began to intrude: the influential Andrea Mantegna (1431-1506), for instance, became increasingly involved with the rich Gonzaga family in Mantua, while even the devout Botticelli (1445-1510) spent time painting a number of pagan works for the powerful Medici family in Florence: see, for example, Primavera 1482, and The Birth of Venus 1485, both marked past substantial nudity. The activity of the fiery Dominican preacher Girolamo Savonarola (1452-98) - culminating in his Bonfire of the Vanities in 1497 - was a articulate indication of the lack of Christian devotion as well as the growing decadence of the time. The situation was further exacerbated during the era of High Renaissance painting, equally Humanism (characteristically expressed in the male and female person nude) became an important characteristic of Renaissance aesthetics: as demonstrated in the marble statue of David by Michelangelo (1501-iv), and the ignudi in the Genesis fresco (1508-12) on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, by the same artist. Worse was to follow, every bit the High Renaissance gave way to the optical pretensions of Mannerist painting, during the 1520s and 30s: every bit exemplified by works similar the Deposition Altarpiece (1526-8) in the Capponi Chapel, Florence, by Pontormo (1494-1557). This not-traditional arroyo to art did not become down well with either Protestants or the more conservative factions in Rome. Another contentious work was Wedding Feast at Cana (1563) by Veronese.

The Council of Trent

To rebuild confidence in the authority of the Roman Cosmic Church, after the twin shocks of the Protestant Reformation (1517) and the Sack of Rome (1527), a entrada of reform was necessary. The impetus for such reform emanated from the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), founded by Southward. Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556), and from the 19th Ecumenical Council (the Council of Trent), initiated by Pope Paul III (1534–1549), which held 25 sessions between 1545 and 1563. Reformers believed strongly in the educational and inspirational power of visual fine art, and promoted a number of guidelines to be followed in the production of religious paintings and sculpture. These formed the basis for what became known as Cosmic Counter-Reformation Art.

Characteristics of Catholic Counter-Reformation Art

Reformers beginning stressed the need to distinguish the one true Church from the breakaway grouping of Protestant churches. Artists should therefore focus on the distinctive aspects of Cosmic dogma, including: The Immaculate Conception, The Annunciation of the Virgin, The Transfiguration of Christ, and others. Besides, any explicit portrayal of Christ'due south suffering and desperation on the Cross was accounted to be especially uplifting, and also served to illustrate the atypical Catholic version of Transubstantiation in the Eucharist. The roles of the Virgin Mary, the Saints and the Sacraments were also a distinctive feature of Catholicism and were to be illustrated accordingly. Second, reformers stipulated that Biblical painting should exist straight and compelling in its narrative presentation, and should exist rendered in a articulate, accurate fashion,without unnecessary or imaginary embellishments. Tertiary, reformers - in particular, pious individuals such as Ignatius of Loyola, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Francis de Sales and Philip Neri - insisted that Catholic art should encourage piety: thus artists should paint and sculpt scenes of advisable spiritual intensity. 4th, as to how paintings and statues were to be executed, reformers stressed the importance of making them equally understandable and equally relevant to ordinary people, as possible. Using these techniques, Catholic art was to combat the spread of Protestantism throughout Europe, especially in areas like France, southern Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Bohemia and Hungary. For an example of a 16th century Mannerist painter who changed his style of painting to comply with the Quango of Trent, encounter: Federico Barocci (1526-1612).

Note: Later, major religious works similar The Last Judgment fresco (1536-61) past Michelangelo, and The Final Supper (renamed Feast in the House of Levi (1573) by Paolo Veronese, were censured by the Catholic authorities: the former for its nudity, for depicting Christ without a beard, and for including the pagan figure of Charon; the latter for its inclusion of drunken Germans, midgets and other inappropriate figures, every bit well as over-extravagant costumes.

The Bizarre Fine art Motion

Following the Council of Trent, the Cosmic Church - along with its new religious orders, such as the Barnabites, Capuchins, Discalced Carmelites, Jesuits, Theatines, and Ursulines - increased its patronage of the arts across much of Europe. Out of this entrada of Counter-Reformation fine art emerged the anti-Mannerist Bolognese Schoolhouse (1590-1630) - led by Annibale Carracci along with blood brother Agostino Carracci (1557-1602) and cousin Ludovico Carracci (1555-1619) - and then the international motility we know as Baroque art, a style which lasted until 1700 or subsequently. A typically powerful and dramatic style, it influenced all the arts, giving rise to Bizarre compages, as well as Baroque painting and sculpure: indeed, projects ofttimes involved a combination of all these disciplines.

Catholic Art in Italy

Baroque architects in Italy produced numerous textbook examples of Catholic architecture, notably the Basilica and surroundings of Saint Peter'due south Basilica (c.1506-1667), and the Church of the Gesu (1568-84), in Rome; while Counter-Reformation painters became noted for their classical approach, as exemplified in the works of Annibale Carracci (1560-1609) and in late 16th century Venetian Altarpieces, notably those past Titian (c.1485/viii-1576) and Tintoretto (1518-94). The textbook instance of Counter-Reformation Baroque sculpture was The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa (1647-52) past Bernini (1598-1680), in the Cornaro Chapel, Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome. After Bernini, Rome's greatest Cosmic artist was Carlo Maratta (1625-1713).

The well-nigh 'existent' Catholic art, however, was created past the wayward genius Caravaggio (1571-1610), whose religious figure painting was so natural and lifelike - and thus instantly understandable by ordinary churchgoers - that it served as the quintessential example of Catholic Counter-Reformation painting. (Run across, for instance, Supper at Emmaus 1601-2, National Gallery, London.) In fact, Caravaggio'south use of street people as models for his sacred figures, led to such realism that he was criticised past conservatives for showing insufficient respect to the Virgin Mary.

See also: Classicism and Naturalism in Italian 17th Century Painting.

The masters of spiritual inspiration were the artists who produced the awesome illusionist mural paintings - known as quadratura - on the walls and ceilings of Baroque churches. The finest of these trompe l'oeil paintings include: Assumption of the Virgin (Parma Cathedral) (1526-xxx) by Correggio - encounter the Parma Schoolhouse of painting; The Triumph of the Proper noun of Jesus (1584, Church of the Gesu) by Giovanni Battista Gaulli; Allegory of Divine Providence (1633-ix, Palazzo Barberini) past Pietro da Cortona; and The Apotheosis of St Ignatius (1691-4, San Ignazio, Rome) past Andrea Pozzo. Compare these inspirational works with the muted, fifty-fifty austere, church interiors created by Protestant artists like Pieter Saenredam (1597-1665) and Emanuel de Witte (1615-92).

Catholic Art in Kingdom of spain and Naples

If Italy was the encephalon of the Catholic Counter-Reformation, its heart was Spain, the well-nigh pious state in Europe. Under the ultra-devout King Philip II (1527-98), painters and sculptors of the Castilian Bizarre produced some of the near spiritually intense illustrations of Catholic doctrine. The greatest of them was El Greco (1541-1614), whose masterpieces include The Disrobing of Christ (1577, Toledo Cathedral); The Burial of the Count of Orgaz (1586, Church of San Tome, Toledo); Christ driving the Traders from the Temple (1600, National Gallery, London); The Ascension of the Virgin Mary (1607-xiii, Southward Cruz Museum, Toledo); and The Adoration of the Shepherds (1613, Prado, Madrid). Other Spanish Baroque artists included: Velazquez (1599-1660) - if only for his masterpiece Christ on the Cantankerous (c.1632, Prado) - Zurbaran (1598-1664); Bartolome Esteban Murillo (1618-1682) and Juan de Valdes Leal (1622-1690).

In the Castilian colony of Naples, the Cosmic Neapolitan School of Painting (1600-56) was led by a serial of devout artists such as: Battistello Caracciolo (1578-1635), Jusepe Ribera (1591-1652), Guido Reni (1575-1642) and Lanfranco (1582-1647). Afterwards the plague of 1654-55, the Neapolitan Baroque was represented by masters like Mattia Preti (1613-99) and Luca Giordano (1634-1705); both had studied Caravaggio in Naples and both had captivated the legacy of Venetian painting from the cinquecento, notably the piece of work of Paolo Veronese (1528-88).

Spanish sculptors who contributed to the Cosmic Counter-Reformation included: Juan de Juni (1506-77); Jeronimo Hernandez (1540-86); Pablo de Rojas (1549-1611); Andres de Ocampo (1555-1623); Juan Martinez Montanes (1568-1649); Gregorio Fernandez (1576-1636); Alonso Cano (1601-67); and Pedro Roldan (1624-99).

Catholic Fine art in Flanders

Different their Dutch rivals to the north, the Catholic Flemish painters of the Castilian Netherlands (Flanders was a Spanish colony) continued to pigment large-scale religious canvases, for ecclesiastical clients. Flemish painting of the tardily 16th and 17th centuries was dominated by Rubens (1577-1640) and his leading pupil Anthony Van Dyck (1599-1641). Among Rubens' many masterpieces of Catholic fine art are: Samson and Delilah (1610, National Gallery, London); Massacre of the Innocents (1611, Private Collection); Descent from the Cantankerous (Rubens) (1612-xiv, Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp); Christ Risen (1616, Palazzo Pitti, Galleria Palatina, Florence); Christ on the Cantankerous (1620, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp); and The Assumption of the Virgin (1626, National Gallery of Art, Washington DC).

Counter-Reformation art spread throughout Catholic Europe and and so into the overseas Spanish Catholic colonies of Asia and the Americas. Championed by the Jesuits and Franciscans, it inspired overseas groups such as the Cuzco School, the Quito Schoolhouse, and Chilote School of Catholic imagery.

Catholic Counter-Reformation paintings and sculpture tin be seen in some of the best art museums in the world.

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Source: http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/history-of-art/catholic.htm

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