Why Did Catholic Patrons of the Arts Support the Baroque

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

EVOLUTION OF VISUAL Fine art
For details of fine art movements
and styles, see: History of Art.
For chronological details, see:
History of Fine art Timeline.

What is Roman Catholic Counter-Reformation Art?

The term "Catholic Counter-Reformation art" describes the more than stringent, doctrinal mode of Christian art which was developed during the menses c.1560-1700, in response to Martin Luther's revolt against Rome (1517) and the Protestant Reformation art which followed. This stricter style of Cosmic Biblical art - launched by the Quango of Trent (1545-63) - was designed to highlight the theological differences betwixt Catholicism and Protestantism, by focusing on the mysteries of the faith, too as the roles of the Virgin Mary and the Saints. Information technology was supposed to revitalize Catholic congregations across Europe, thus minimizing the furnishings of the Protestant defection. To inject momentum into its campaign, the Roman Church - aided by the newly-formed Jesuit order, besides as wealthy pious individuals - began commissioning new architecture, works of altarpiece art (mostly large-scale oil paintings), inspirational church building fresco paintings, and major pieces of ecclesiastical sculpture and wood etching. Staunch supporters of the Cosmic Counter-Reformation and its religious fine art included Italy, Spain and its colonies of Flanders and Naples, too every bit southern Germany. Its leading exponents were therefore Italian Baroque artists like Caravaggio, Pietro da Cortona, Bernini, and Andrea Pozzo; the school of Castilian Painting, such as El Greco, Ribera and Francisco de Zurbaran; and the Flemish primary Peter Paul Rubens.

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

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

The second factor was creative though it, likewise, reflected a similar spiritual pass up. During the 15th century, Early on Renaissance painting commissioned by the Church building or its Christian followers, gradually became less and less religious. The Tornabuoni Chapel frescoes (1485–ninety), for case, by Domenico Ghirlandaio, seem to exist more focused on the details of bourgeois metropolis life than on their bodily subjects, the Life of the Virgin and that of John the Baptist. Also, 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 infidel works for the powerful Medici family unit in Florence: see, for example, Primavera 1482, and The Birth of Venus 1485, both marked by substantial nudity. The activity of the fiery Dominican preacher Girolamo Savonarola (1452-98) - culminating in his Bonfire of the Vanities in 1497 - was a clear indication of the lack of Christian devotion as well every bit the growing decadence of the time. The situation was further exacerbated during the era of High Renaissance painting, as Humanism (characteristically expressed in the male person and female person nude) became an of import feature of Renaissance aesthetics: equally demonstrated in the marble statue of David past Michelangelo (1501-4), and the ignudi in the Genesis fresco (1508-12) on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, by the aforementioned artist. Worse was to follow, as the High Renaissance gave way to the optical pretensions of Mannerist painting, during the 1520s and 30s: as exemplified by works similar the Deposition Altarpiece (1526-viii) in the Capponi Chapel, Florence, by Pontormo (1494-1557). This non-traditional approach to art did not go down well with either Protestants or the more bourgeois factions in Rome. Some other contentious piece of work was Wedding Feast at Cana (1563) by Veronese.

The Council of Trent

To rebuild conviction in the authority of the Roman Catholic Church, afterward the twin shocks of the Protestant Reformation (1517) and the Sack of Rome (1527), a campaign of reform was necessary. The impetus for such reform emanated from the Club of Jesus (the Jesuits), founded by Due south. 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 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 Catholic Counter-Reformation Art.

Characteristics of Catholic Counter-Reformation Art

Reformers beginning stressed the need to distinguish the 1 true Church from the breakaway group of Protestant churches. Artists should therefore focus on the distinctive aspects of Catholic dogma, including: The Immaculate Formulation, The Annunciation of the Virgin, The Transfiguration of Christ, and others. As well, any explicit portrayal of Christ'southward suffering and agony on the Cross was deemed to be especially uplifting, and besides served to illustrate the singular Catholic version of Transubstantiation in the Eucharist. The roles of the Virgin Mary, the Saints and the Sacraments were also a distinctive characteristic of Catholicism and were to be illustrated accordingly. 2d, reformers stipulated that Biblical painting should exist directly and compelling in its narrative presentation, and should be rendered in a articulate, accurate fashion,without unnecessary or imaginary embellishments. Third, 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 Cosmic art should encourage piety: thus artists should paint and sculpt scenes of appropriate spiritual intensity. Fourth, as to how paintings and statues were to be executed, reformers stressed the importance of making them as understandable and as relevant to ordinary people, as possible. Using these techniques, Catholic fine art was to combat the spread of Protestantism throughout Europe, especially in areas like French republic, southern Germany, holland, Poland, Bohemia and Hungary. For an case of a 16th century Mannerist painter who changed his fashion of painting to comply with the Council of Trent, see: Federico Barocci (1526-1612).

Notation: Later, major religious works like The Terminal Judgment fresco (1536-61) by Michelangelo, and The Concluding Supper (renamed Banquet in the Business firm of Levi (1573) past Paolo Veronese, were censured by the Catholic regime: the old 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, as well equally over-extravagant costumes.

The Bizarre Art Movement

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

Catholic Art in Italy

Bizarre architects in Italy produced numerous textbook examples of Catholic compages, notably the Basilica and surround of Saint Peter's 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 by Titian (c.1485/8-1576) and Tintoretto (1518-94). The textbook example of Counter-Reformation Baroque sculpture was The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa (1647-52) by 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 most 'real' Catholic art, still, was created past the wayward genius Caravaggio (1571-1610), whose religious figure painting was and so natural and lifelike - and thus instantly understandable by ordinary churchgoers - that it served as the quintessential example of Catholic Counter-Reformation painting. (Meet, 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 by conservatives for showing insufficient respect to the Virgin Mary.

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

The masters of spiritual inspiration were the artists who produced the awesome illusionist mural paintings - known equally quadratura - on the walls and ceilings of Baroque churches. The finest of these trompe 50'oeil paintings include: Assumption of the Virgin (Parma Cathedral) (1526-30) by Correggio - come across the Parma School of painting; The Triumph of the Name of Jesus (1584, Church building of the Gesu) by Giovanni Battista Gaulli; Allegory of Divine Providence (1633-9, Palazzo Barberini) by Pietro da Cortona; and The Apotheosis of St Ignatius (1691-4, San Ignazio, Rome) by Andrea Pozzo. Compare these inspirational works with the muted, even austere, church interiors created past Protestant artists similar Pieter Saenredam (1597-1665) and Emanuel de Witte (1615-92).

Catholic Art in Spain and Naples

If Italy was the encephalon of the Catholic Counter-Reformation, its heart was Spain, the most pious country in Europe. Under the ultra-devout Male monarch Philip II (1527-98), painters and sculptors of the Spanish Baroque 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 building of San Tome, Toledo); Christ driving the Traders from the Temple (1600, National Gallery, London); The Ascension of the Virgin Mary (1607-thirteen, Due south Cruz Museum, Toledo); and The Adoration of the Shepherds (1613, Prado, Madrid). Other Spanish Baroque artists included: Velazquez (1599-1660) - if just for his masterpiece Christ on the Cross (c.1632, Prado) - Zurbaran (1598-1664); Bartolome Esteban Murillo (1618-1682) and Juan de Valdes Leal (1622-1690).

In the Spanish colony of Naples, the Catholic Neapolitan Schoolhouse of Painting (1600-56) was led by a series of devout artists such as: Battistello Caracciolo (1578-1635), Jusepe Ribera (1591-1652), Guido Reni (1575-1642) and Lanfranco (1582-1647). Subsequently the plague of 1654-55, the Neapolitan Baroque was represented by masters similar 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 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 Art in Flanders

Unlike their Dutch rivals to the due north, the Catholic Flemish painters of the Spanish Netherlands (Flanders was a Spanish colony) connected to paint large-calibration religious canvases, for ecclesiastical clients. Flemish painting of the late 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 art are: Samson and Delilah (1610, National Gallery, London); Massacre of the Innocents (1611, Private Collection); Descent from the Cantankerous (Rubens) (1612-14, Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp); Christ Risen (1616, Palazzo Pitti, Galleria Palatina, Florence); Christ on the Cross (1620, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp); and The Supposition of the Virgin (1626, National Gallery of Art, Washington DC).

Counter-Reformation art spread throughout Catholic Europe and and then 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 Schoolhouse, the Quito School, and Chilote School of Catholic imagery.

Cosmic Counter-Reformation paintings and sculpture can be seen in some of the all-time art museums in the earth.

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

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