Reformation and Counter Reformation: Catholic and Protestant Art

Reformation and Counter Reformation: Catholic and Protestant Art
Durer, Albrecht Self-Portrait at Oil on panel Alte Pinakothek, Munich

Reformation vs. Counter-Reformation
High Renaissance in Northern Europe: Grunewald’s Isenheim Altarpiece Catholicism vs Protestantism Albrecht Durer Pieter Breughel The Counter Reformation St. Peter’s Cathedral Caravaggio El Greco

The High Renaissance in Northern Europe:
Visualizing Sickness and Salvation: The complex Isenheim Altarpiece consists of a wooden shrine with gilded and polychromed statues and two pairs of movable wings that open at the center, on which Matthias Grünewald painted eight scenes (four on each pair) dealing with the themes of dire illness and miraculous healing. Emphasis is given to Saint Anthony. The exterior panels of the closed altarpiece shows the Crucifixion and emphasizes Christ's pain and suffering.

MATTHIAS GRÜNEWALD, Isenheim Altarpiece , ca. 1510-1515
The Isenheim Altarpiece was executed for the hospital chapel of Saint Anthony's Monastery in Isenheim in Alsace, which explains the presence of the plague saint, St Sebastian, and the patrons of the more austere and solitary forms of monasticism, St Antony Abbot and St Paul the Hermit. The altarpiece is now at the Unterlinden Museum in Colmar, a nearby town. The Isenheim Altar is a complicated structure with four layers of painted surfaces - that is, two sets of folding wings, like a double cupboard, enclosing the final altarpiece, which consists of three carved wood statues of saints. There are also two side panels and a predella. In form, therefore, it harks back to the type of Burgundian and German carved altar of which the Broederlam at Dijon is a classic example. There are three views of the altarpiece. The first, with the wings closed, is a Crucifixion showing a harrowingly detailed, twisted, and bloody figure of Christ on the cross in the center flanked, on the left, by the mourning Madonna being comforted by John the Apostle, and Mary Magdalene kneeling with hands clasped in prayer, and, on the right, by a standing John the Baptist pointing to the dying Saviour. At the feet of the Baptist is a lamb holding a cross, symbol of the "Lamb of God" slaughtered for man's sins. In the second view, when the wings are opened, three scenes of celebration are revealed: the Annunciation, the Angel Concert for Madonna and Child, and the Resurrection. The third view with wings opened again discloses on either side of the carved innermost shrine two panels, Sts Paul and Antony in the Desert and a Temptation of St Antony. The Crucifixion is sombre and livid; inside, all is a magic glory of brilliant colour and light, and the final scenes of the Desert Saints are again lurid and eerie, with, in the Temptation, the kind of devil-haunted imagery that permeated Bosch's visions of sin. The work of Grünewald expresses the torment of the early sixteenth century more fully than that of any other artist. Dürer was too steeped in Italian culture to have much use for the tortured Gothic forms which Grünewald twisted to suit his expressive purposes in his masterpiece, the Isenheim Altar, of about This was painted before Luther nailed his theses to the door of Wittenberg Cathedral in 1517, but it is painted by a man who, like Bosch, used his great technical powers to express a simple, unmistakable message of emotional intensity and terrible realism. These visions are entirely in the spirit of St Bridget of Sweden, whose Revelations were one of the most popular devotional books of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries; they would have been repugnant to all but a very small number of Italians, of whom Savonarola would certainly have been one, and Botticelli might well have been another. MATTHIAS GRÜNEWALD, Isenheim Altarpiece , ca

MATTHIAS GRÜNEWALD, Detail Isenheim Altarpiece , ca. 1510-1515

Replacing Church Practices With Personal Faith
The Protestant Reformation grew out of dissatisfaction with Church leadership and the perception that popes and upper-level clergy were too concerned with temporal power and material wealth. Because of inadequate support and leadership, movements such as the Modern Devotion, comprised of the lay religious order the Brothers and Sisters of the Common Life, placed new emphasis on personal religious rituals and encouraged a more direct spiritual communion with God.

Ninety-five Theses and Lutheranism
Dissatisfaction with the Church led to Martin Luther issuing his Ninety-Five Theses, in which he listed objections to Church practices. Luther argued that the ecclesiastical structure of the Catholic Church had no basis in the Bible. He maintained that salvation was not earned by people but was attained through God's bestowal of his grace. Only faith in Christ, guided by Scripture, could ensure salvation. Luther advocated the Bible as the sole foundation for Christianity and the source of all religious truth.

Calvinism, Anabaptism, and the Anglican Church
Because the Scriptures were open to different interpretations, differences arose among the various Protestant reformers such as Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, and John Calvin. The followers of these reformers became known as Lutherans, Zwinglians, and Calvinists. Other groups emerged, such as the Anabaptists, descendants of which include the Mennonites and the Amish. The Catholic Counter-Reformation was intended to counteract the popularity of Protestantism.

Holy Roman Empire (Including Germany)
Divergent Views on Religious Imagery Catholics and Protestants differed on the role of visual imagery in religion. Catholics embraced church decoration as an aid to communicating with God; whereas Protestants believed such imagery could lead to idolatry and distracted viewers from communicating directly with God. Because of this, Protestant churches were relatively bare. However, Protestants did use art, and especially prints, as a teaching tool.

Catholicism vs. Protestantism:
Lucas Cranach's Allegory of Law and Grace is a small woodcut print produced after the Reformation began. It shows the differences between Catholicism and Protestantism. LUCAS CRANACH THE ELDER, The Law and the Gospel , ca Woodcut, 10 5/8" x 12 3/4". British Museum, London.

In this picture from a Lutheran devotional (and propagandist) booklet, Christ (on the left) is driving the moneychangers out of the temple, in contrast to the Pope, who is shown as a hawker of indulgences. The picture originated as a woodcut by Lucas Cranach the Elder (fl. 1520), the court painter for the Elector of Saxony and a close friend of Luther's. From Lucas Cranach the Elder. "Passional Christi und Antichristi." Woodcut. 1521.

This 1512 work by Albrecht Dürer shows peasants at market
This 1512 work by Albrecht Dürer shows peasants at market. Peasants often had to sell produce that they may well have needed themselves in order to pay the rents and fees they owed to their lords. German peasants usually lived in thatch houses with dirt floors. Wooden chimneys covered with clay kept them warm without burning down their humble homes. Often, any animals a peasant family owned slept in the house with them. (Mosaic) From Albrecht Dürer. "Market Peasants." 1512.

Supporting the Lutheran Cause: Dürer's simple and straightforward woodcut of the Last Supper alludes to Lutheran doctrine that the sacrament of Communion was a commemorative event. ALBRECHT DÜRER, Last Supper, Woodcut, 8 3/8" x 11 13/16". British Museum, London.

Emphasizing the Bible:
Dürer conveyed Lutheran ideas in his painting Four Apostles by giving prominence to John the Evangelist and by showing Peter and John both reading from the Bible. Dürer also included quotations from each of the Four Apostles' books in the German of Luther's translation of the New Testament on the frames of each panel. ALBRECHT DÜRER, Four Apostles, Oil on panel, each panel 7' 1" x 2' 6". Alte Pinakothek, Munich.

A Protestant Portrait of Intellect:
Dürer's Lutheran sympathies are also apparent in his engraved portrait of the Protestant scholar Philipp Melanchthon ALBRECHT DÜRER, Philipp Melanchthon, Engraving, 6 7/8" x 5 1/16". British Museum, London.

Holbein's The Ambassadors (1834)

Elevating the Art of Engraving:
Dürer's finely detailed engraving Knight, Death, and the Devil is both idealized and naturalistic. ALBRECHT DÜRER, Knight, Death, and the Devil, Engraving, 95/8" x 73/8". Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Knight, Death, and the Devil

Classical Ideas in the North:
Dürer's interest in classical ideas, as transmitted through Italian Renaissance artists, is seen in his engraving The Fall of Man (Adam and Eve), for which he studied the Vitruvian theory of human proportions. Adam and Eve are idealized figures who otherwise stand in a carefully observed landscape with detailed foliage and animals. The animals are believed to be symbolic references to the four humors. Engraving New in North: sculptural, monumental bodies Employed canon of ideal human proportions Nudes based on Greek and Roman prototypes, had traveled and studied in Italy Published own prints--importance of printmaking as new media by which images disseminated, artists could now see others work ALBRECHT DÜRER, The Fall of Man (Adam and Eve), Engraving, approx. 10" x 71/2".

Durer, Albrecht Self-Portrait at 28 1500 Oil on panel 67 x 49 cm Alte Pinakothek, Munich

A Painting of Botanical Accuracy:
Dürer's precise watercolor study of a piece of turf is scientifically accurate. Art based on careful scientific observation Wrote treatises re perspective, proportions in art ALBRECHT DÜRER, The Great Piece of Turf, Watercolor, approx. 16" x 121/2". Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna. Turf

Breugel’s Religious Paintings:
A Materialist View of Human Nature The Adoration of the Kings Oil on panel. National Gallery, London, UK. More

Detail The Adoration of the Kings. 1564. Oil on panel
Detail The Adoration of the Kings Oil on panel. National Gallery, London, UK.

Religious War 'Dulle Griet' (Mad Meg). Detail. c Oil on panel. Musée Mayer van der Bergh, Antwerp, Belgium.

Bruegel, Pieter Dulle Griet (Mad Meg) c. 1562 Oil on panel 117
Bruegel, Pieter Dulle Griet (Mad Meg) c Oil on panel x 162 cm Museum Mayer van den Bergh, Antwerp

Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The Massacre of the Innocents. 1565-7
Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The Massacre of the Innocents Oil on panel. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The Massacre of the Innocents Oil on panel. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria

Bruegel, Pieter The Procession to Calvary 1564 Oil on canvas 124 x 170 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Vienna

Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The Parable of the Blind Oil on canvas. Museo di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The Parable of the Blind Oil on canvas. Museo di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy

Pieter Bruegel: Observer of Peasant Village Life
Kermis / The Peasant Dance, ca. 1568

Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Head of the Old Peasant Woman. c. 1568
Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Head of the Old Peasant Woman. c Oil on wood. Alte Pinakothek, Munich, Germany.

"One of the most perfect of Bruegel's human comedies is his famous picture of a country wedding. Like most pictures, it loses a great deal in reproduction: all details become much smaller, and we must therefore look at it with double care. The feast takes place in a barn, with straw stacked up high in the background. The bride sits in front of a piece of blue cloth, with a kind of crown suspended over her head. She sits quietly, with folded hands and a grin of utter contentment on her stupid face. The old man in the chair and the woman beside her are probably her parents, while the man farther back, who is so busy gobbling his food with his spoon, may be the bridegroom. Most of the people at the table concentrate on eating and drinking, and we notice this is only the beginning. In the left-hand corner a man pours out beer - a good number of empty jugs are still in the basket - while two men with white aprons are carrying ten more platefuls of pie or porridge on an improvised tray. One of the guests passes the plates to the table. But much more is going on. There is the crowd in the background trying to get in; there are the musicians, one of them with a pathetic, forlorn and hungry look in his eyes, as he watches the food being carried past; there are the two outsiders at the corner of the table, the friar and the magistrate, engrossed in their own conversation; and there is the child in the foreground, who has got hold of a plate, and a feathered cap much too large for its little head, and who is completely absorbed in licking the delicious food - a picture of innocent greed. But what is even more admirable than all this wealth of anecdote, wit and observation, is the way in which Bruegel has organized his picture so that it does not look crowded or confusing. Tintoretto himself could not have produced a more convincing picture of a crowded space than did Bruegel with his device of the table receding into the background and the movement of people starting with the crowd at the barn door, leading up to the foreground and the scene of the food carriers, and back again through the gesture of the man serving the table who leads our eyes directly to the small but central figure of the grinning bride. Bruegel, Pieter Peasant wedding c Oil on wood 114 x 164 cm (45 x 64 1/2 in.) Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Hunters in the Snow, 1565 Pieter Bruegel the Elder

The Harvesters, 1565 Pieter Bruegel the Elder

The Counter Reformation
In answer to the growth of the Protestant movement, the Catholic Church instituted its own series of reforms that balanced real reform with a strident and conservative reaction to Protestantism. This movement was called the Counter-Reformation. Organizations that included both clergy and lay people and encouraged a return to simple ethical living and piety. The most important of the reactionary movements was the Society of Jesus or the Jesuits, founded by Ignatius of Loyola in the 1530's. The basis of the Society of Jesus was a return to the strictest and most uncompromising obedience to the authority of the church and its ecclesiastical hierarchy. (Hooker) Counter-Reformation imperatives encouraged artists to produce art that moved viewers towards greater devotion and piety.

St. Peter’s Cathedral, Vatican City, Rome

Welcoming the Pious in Rome:
The monumental piazza in front of Saint Peter's, designed by Gianlorenzo Bernini, is in the form of a vast oval embraced by two colonnades of huge Tuscan columns and joined to the façade of the church by two diverging wings. To counteract the excessive width of the façade of Saint Peter's, Bernini designed the diverging wings to counteract the natural perspective of the view and create the impression of the façade being narrower and taller.

A Soaring Bronze Canopy:
The four spiral columns of the gigantic bronze baldacchino erected by Bernini over the main altar recall those of the ancient baldacchino over the same spot in Old Saint Peter's. Gianlorenzo Bernini, baldacchino, Saint Peter's, Vatican City, Rome, 1624–1633. Gilded bronze, approx. 100' high

Baroque Sculpture In the Cornaro Chapel, Bernini employed a combination of architecture, sculpture, and painting to create an appropriate dramatic tension for the mystical drama of the ecstasy of Saint Theresa. The white marble group of swooning saint and smiling angel appears to float as a vision might in the cleverly illuminated central niche. Gianlorenzo Bernini, Ecstasy of Saint Theresa, Cornaro Chapel, Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome,

Caravaggio: Stark Contrasts of Light and Dark:
In his naturalistic treatment of the Conversion of Saint Paul, Caravaggio employs dramatic chiaroscuro effects (called tenebrism) with sharply lit figures seen emerging from a dark background. The dramatic spotlight-like light illuminates the figure of Saint Paul and at the same time serves as the divine source of his conversion. Caravaggio, Conversion of Saint Paul, ca Oil on canvas, approx. 7' 6" X 5' 9". Cerasi Chapel, Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome.

Visualizing Transubstantiation:
In the Entombment, Caravaggio includes plebian figure types and dramatically contrasted darks and lights. The action takes place in the foreground, and the impression is that the men are laying the dead body of Christ onto the real altar in front of the painting. Caravaggio, Entombment, ca Oil on canvas, 9' 10 1/8" x 6' 7 15/16". Musei Vaticani, Pinacoteca, Rome.

From Tax Collector to Disciple:
Light also carries this double meaning in the dramatically lit commonplace setting of Caravaggio's Calling of Saint Matthew. Caravaggio, Calling of Saint Matthew, ca Oil on canvas, 11' 1" X 11' 5". Contarelli Chapel, San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome

El Greco View of Toledo (1597) El Greco

A Martyr at Peace: Francisco de Zurbarán was influenced by Caravaggio's naturalism and dramatic lighting effects. In his painting of Saint Serapion, he shows the coarse-featured saint emerging in bright light from a dark background. Francisco De Zurbarán, Saint Serapion, Oil on canvas, 47 1/2" x 40 3/4". Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford

THE MARTYRDOM OF ST. PHILIP (33 K) José de Ribera ( ) Oil on canvas: 2,34 x 2,34 m. Spanish School (17th. century) This work was usually considered to represent the martyrdom of St. Bartholomew the apostle who, according to tradition, was skinned while still alive when preaching Christ's Faith in Armenia. Another tradition of eastern origin said that he was crucified or beheaded. In an attempt to harmonize these contradictory versions, Santiago de la Voragine says in the Golden Legend: "The saint apostle could have been crucified first; then, before he passed away, and in order to increase his sufferings, he was descended and skinned and finally, while still alive, he was beheaded". Notwithstanding, St. Bartholomew is customarily represented holding a knife as the attribute of his terrible martyrdom. The lack of the knife in this painting (though some identified it with the handle showing out of the executioner's pocket, on the right side of the canvas) caused critics to question whether this attribution was fitting. Recent researchs prove that the painting represents the martyrdom of St. Philip; this apostle was Philip IV's patron saint and presumably Ribera painted the canvas upon the royal commission, as it is recorded in the Alcázar in Madrid in After Christ's death, St. Philip came to preach in Phrygia where he met his death at the hands of heathens. He was tied with ropes to a cross (without nails) and this scene prior to the torture is what Ribera depicts, as he usually represents the preparatory moments in his martyrdom subjects. The compositional scheme consists of a series of diagonal and vertical lines and sharp foreshortening. In the foreground, two hangmen are hauling the exhausted body up, already tied to the log, while a third one helps holding the saint's leg down. On the right, a group of onlookers follows the action with interest, while the group on the left shows indifference. The splendid nude (in contrast to the vulgarity of the saint's head, compared by Pantoja to a rude Napolitan fisherman's), the rich colouring, the wide and bright sky and, on the left, the delicious slight brushstrokes-made child sleeping in his mother's arms, reveal that this is an artist's mature work, painted in 1639. José de Ribera, Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew, ca Oil on canvas, approx. 7' 8" X 7' 8". Museo del Prado, Madrid.

El Greco, The Resurrection of Christ, c. 1597-1610.

El Greco, The Burial of Count Orgaz, 1586 The Prado Madrid

Reformation and Counter Reformation: Catholic and Protestant Art

Similar presentations

Presentation on theme: "Reformation and Counter Reformation: Catholic and Protestant Art"— Presentation transcript:

Similar presentations

About project

Feedback

Log in

Auth with social network:

Reformation and Counter Reformation: Catholic and Protestant Art

Similar presentations

Presentation on theme: "Reformation and Counter Reformation: Catholic and Protestant Art"— Presentation transcript:

Similar presentations

About project

Feedback