Patrons and Artists in Baroque Italy: Religious Paintings by Caravaggio and the Counter-Reformation Theories - Research Paper Example

?Patrons and Artists in Baroque Italy: Religious Paintings by Caravaggio and the Counter-Reformation Theories Introduction Caravaggio introduced a different aspect to arts, which consequently marked the end of mannerist period consequently ushering the baroque period. By doing this, the legendary artist validates the claim that arts represent the societies always noting the changes in the social structures. For a long time the Italian society, one of the elitist societies in early Europe criticized the Roman Catholic, which was a major decision maker and an influencer of the political grouping. Caravaggio based his works on simplicity a factor he managed to earn using realistic features of the society. Through such simple aspects of the society, he gains relevance with his target audience most of who recognize the aspects of his painting. This introduces a feature to arts that results in a completely new artistic era. Unlike the period of mannerism, the period of baroque, which Caravaggio pioneered, based its works on the use of simple features of art and targeted the common citizen (Berenson 43). This is unlike the mannerism period in which artists complicated their works by concealing their information in highly sophisticated objects in the paintings. The generation change in the art is attributable to the Roman Catholic, which wanted to use art as a means of winning back followership to the faith. Through the works of such radical yet influential figures in the society such as Martin Luther King, the church was losing a significant following and therefore through the council of Trent, the Roman Catholic permitted the use of arts to influence adherence back to the faith. The council of Trent had a specific target, which it hoped to win back to the church. The council therefore wanted a realistic form of art. One that could earn automatic relevance with the common person in the society thereby win their emotional appeal compelling them to reconsider their religious stand in relation to the teachings of Martin Luther. Besides the use of simple aspects of art, Caravaggio uses common models in his arts a feature that earns him an automatic recognition of his works. Having lived in the slums of Rome, Caravaggio preferred the use of common models in the roman society, the easily affordable one. This way, he began using prostitutes as his models among other commonly available objects such as real corpses in the in the society. This feature was highly controversial but in the process earned his works the relevance and recognition he had desired. Additionally, the use of common and simplistic features of both art and the society marked the difference between the two periods in the historical development of art. The era of mannerism withdrew from the society and used sophisticated artifacts; in the period therefore, arts targeted the elite who coincidentally were few. In the baroque period, arts became common and easily understood by the common person who the art targeted since artists such as Caravaggio decided to use common figures in the society (Langdon 12). The unique works of Caravaggio portrayed a great contrast between light and dark. He had discovered that arts could use a number of features to communicate the different aspects of the society. He therefore did not only rely on the manipulation of his paintings but also the color intensity in the artifacts to achieve the success he required for each of his creations. The balance between dark and light was unconventional and a major difference from the works of Da Vinci who also contributed immense to the art. While Da Vinci used the different aspects of his arts to lose his audience, Caravaggio on the contrary used these conspicuously new features of art to enhance the messages of his arts. This implies that the audience was changing a feature that began influencing other artists of the time thereby resulting in an entire generational change in art. This implies that the society was fast changing too, the ability of Caravaggio’s audience to analyze and identify the different messages he concealed in his fundamental aspects of painting such as the lighting, which he greatly manipulated portrayed a level of societal enlightened a characteristic feature of the baroque period (Hubala 56). With the rise of Caravaggio an enthusiastic student of Leonardo, a new era in the early European society began. The baroque period embraced the works of Caravaggio; his every creation became an instantaneous success always enjoying positive criticism from the more analytical Italian publics. The society was increasingly becoming enlightened and the people would therefore readily identify a representation of their society in the works of Caravaggio. He had spent his early years studying the works of other early iconic artists key among who was Da Vinci. Some of his early works portrayed features similar to those espoused by Leonardo in his works most of which represented the period of mannerism. The fact that Caravaggio produces works that represent both the mannerism period and the subsequent baroque period makes him an iconic figure in the transition through the two periods. The mannerism period in the history of arts witnessed the birth of intellectual sophistications. Additionally, the era witnessed the birth of artificial qualities. Earlier periods in arts merely represented nature and their mundane societies. The inception f the mannerism period on the contrary introduced artificial studies and portrayal of artificial features in the works of arts. Da Vinci among other iconic artists such Raphael succeeded in this always managing to conceal their messages in highly sophisticated paintings and stone carvings. As a student of this ear and learning from Da Vinci, Caravaggio produced some of his early works epitomizing the artificial nature of the society and fusing such with his level of intellectual sophistication. However, the society was increasingly becoming enlightened with people beginning to understand so easily the works of Raphael and the likes of Da Vinci artists who had perfected the art of concealing their messages in their creations. The ability of the society to decipher such initiated the use of other aspects of art to convey the message not necessarily to conceal the messages but also to advance art. Baroque period in the history of arts witnessed the use of exaggerated motion most of which were clear and therefore easily interpreted in the works of art. However, in the simplistic nature of such artifacts were detailed tension, drama and exuberance. Caravaggio therefore succeeded in making use the element of simplicity to communicate some of the most complex aspect if the society. The modern cartoons and the use of caricatures especially in political analysis as in the daily newspapers was originally Caravaggio’s idea of an ideal art. The society was becoming increasingly heightened with political activity, the nature of politics since time immemorial was spontaneous. The leaders of the church had intense power struggles at the expense of the adherents of the faith who were also becoming increasingly agitated by the actions of their leaders. Caravaggio therefore seized the opportunity to criticize the leadership of the church through his works. Most of his early works as an adolescent were sophisticated and concealed his messages as his predecessors had previously perfected. He later changes radically to take a more simplistic feature of arts always developing exaggerated paintings with conspicuously satirical balance of the elements of the art such as color balance to communicate very complex messages. This way, Caravaggio contributed to the enlightened of the society since his satirical works attracted the attention of the society into art. The society therefore began the open messages in the works thereby not necessarily paying attention to the beauty of art. With the society becoming more analytical of works art, they began by interpreting the open criticism of the Roman Catholic structure as envisioned by Caravaggio in his simplistic works. Besides the open criticism of the Roman Catholic, Caravaggio obtained the favor of the church a move that appeared more political. The artists was initially radical in his works and just as any other enlightened member of the early society, he portrayed more skeptical views about the church and the Roman Catholic. To gain favor from the society and to win the trust of the society once more, the church decide to permit Caravaggio to produce works which purely communicated spirituality. Caravaggio’s early works had succeeded in obtaining the attention of the society, which now observed his creations and the political satire and criticism in the works. By convincing Caravaggio to use his art to communicate emotional themes and spiritual commitment, the council of Trent was becoming more liberal and trying to find effective mean of competing and possibly quelling the widespread protestant reformation in the early society. The nature of his assignments from the council of Trent required specific features of arts. He had to manipulate the artistic elements to communicate the spiritual concepts and include the element of spirituality in nearly every work he produced. He therefore had to become more analytic with his use of color among other elements of the art. Caravaggio therefore developed the ability to win emotional appeal of his audience not only by using such elements but also by developing realistic features of the spirituality to the society. People had varied beliefs in the Christian faith owing to the secular nature of the management of the church. The leadership of the church had increasingly showed interest in the governance of the nation thereby formulating and implementing increasingly secular policies most of which denied the people the basic human freedom. This resulted in the rise of Protestant in other parts of Europe such as in France and in England. The effect would soon spread through the development of other churches with doctrines that were more liberal. The trend therefore threatened the position of the Roman Catholic a feature that compelled their request for the use of art to win favor from their previous population. The nature of his assignment by the church sparked a periodical change in art resulting in the creation of a completely different form of practice in which the public immediately obtained the gist of the information in the artifacts (Gilbert 12). To achieve this, Caravaggio decided to communicate to the essence of humanity, the spirit. Arts reflect the social feature of people, in communicating to the humankind, he decided to use very realistic aspects of the society but infuse such with the emotional appeal necessary to win favor from the audience. This compels him to use simple illustrations of the features in the society but add to these an interesting twist capable of winning favor. He therefore uses the religious features that resemble the everyday life of the people in the early Italian society. This earns the simplistic feature he introduces in arts and as his subsequent students portray, the feature later became common in the creation of religious artifacts since they communicated spirituality. Caravaggio addresses the most common themes in the society but fuses them with emotion. He sues color and the contrast between dark and light to crate very simple artifacts that did not require any specialized interpretation. Most of his works following the decrees of the Trent council therefore targeted the average Italian citizen in the Republic. The audience of the works of art in the Baroque period differed with those in the early elitist society of Mannerist period. The mannerist period, the works of such renowned artists as Leonardo targeted the elite in the society and served only as decorations and objects of beauty to the common citizen. This explains the high level of artificial in the works and the subsequent use of unrealistic features of art to conceal the messages in the artifacts. The categorical audience of the works then validated the schemes employed by Da Vinci and his cohort. Caravaggio’s works therefore automatically differs with the works of such artists owing to the unique features of his audience group. They are literary the common man in the community who had begun expressing dissatisfaction with the management of the Roman catholic and therefore decided to seek other forms of spiritual nourishment from the rise of protestant. This feature threatened the survival and growth of Roman Catholic. Propaganda works best among the least elite members of the society, such people have elative ability to conceptualize the facts in the society for themselves, they therefore rely on other elite members of the society who interpret the facts, developing messages that favor their own interest and communicating such to the people. Through extensive smear campaigns, the Roman Catholic was fast losing its grip on its adherents in the Italian community and other regions in Europe. By directing Caravaggio to produce artifacts that communicated emotional appeal to the people, the council of Trent was specifying to the artists his primary audience, the masses most of who had not adequate knowledge and could not therefore interpret some of the complex works as those done by Da Vinci and his group of elite artists. He therefore produces simple works and sues the basic features of the community to communicate such. He is more realistic than other artists are in the previous era and uses features that every member of the society can easily identify with. This earns his works direct acknowledgment from the masses most of who he convinces to return to the catholic faith. He developed a number of religious paintings representing most of which represent events in the religious books. The population had not had a chance to conceptualize such events. By drawing them, Carravigio makes it possible for the masses to conceptualize such facts for themselves for the first time possibly winning their sympathy for the doctrines of the church. Among his most famous works in the anti-reformation campaign, include the following. Death of the virgin Caravaggio had worked with the Roman Catholic for fifteen years when he produced this artifact. The portrait is a full human size creation embodying the true essence of catholic. The catholic doctrines give much importance to Virgin Mary the mother of Jesus Christ. Her death therefore is an integral point in the development of the followership to the faith. Most Catholics pray through the virgin. Since catholic was the only religion in the society for a long-time, Virgin Mary was therefore an iconic figure in the growth of the faith. Her death was therefore such an essential event, which would immediately win the sympathy of the adherents to the back to the faith (Berenson 12). Caravaggio develops a full size portrait of Marry lying on her back in her deathbed. Every element in the painting is real, dressed in red, the virgin lies helpless with several sympathizes surrounding her bed. For the first time in the history of the Virgin Mary’s portrayal in the works of art, Caravaggio does not include the iconography used in the head of the holy family to represent their holy status. This gives the portrait of Marry a more realistic feeling as she lies in her death just as any other member of the society. The representation is realistic and simple in every aspect, unlike previously believed, Caravaggio drops the holy status and portrays the holy Virgin inclined to her back and clad in a simple red dress. This earns both the recognition of the audience of such works of the reality of the virgin’s death. In the painting, Caravaggio addresses the theme of death and funeral. These were common themes in the society and the people immediately identifies with them. Additionally, everybody in the society knows of Mary’s death, however, the holy tag around her family limited people’s conceptualization of her death. The painting provides a more realistic portrayal of the picture developing her death just as the death of any other. The painting is therefore simple enough yet complex as it investigates the transition of the holiest woman in the faith. The intrigue the painting develops therefore wins the sympathy of the adherents to the faith. The calling of Saint Mathews In developing this painting, Caravaggio maintains his style by using actual and simplistic figures in the society. He uses common celebrities most of who are common to the people targeted by the council of Trent. He creates a life size portrait of the common people in the society and dresses similarly to the people in the society. The figure also raised controversies in identification of the key character, Mathews as the faces he portrayed in the painting all looked familiar to the society thereby raising questions on the authenticity of his painting. Caravaggio thrived in controversies; his style of painting was more likely to raise controversies but nonetheless attracted the target audience thereby earning his paintings relevance (Gilbert 23). By using Mathews, such an iconic figure in Jesus’ ministry, Caravaggio manages to convince others that the religion was not purposely for the poor and that even the rich and wealthy had sacrificed their plum position to work for the faith. The portrait is full size and portrays Mathew sitting siting with his three colleagues at the customhouse (Langdon 23). Jesus later walks in accompanied by Peter one of his earliest disciples and motions for Mathew to follow him. As Jesus enters the customhouse, a beam of light hits the faces of the men at the table thereby portraying the miraculous identification of Mathews. The painting received a number of critical analyses with people disputing the face of Peter from the three men at the table. However, the criticisms are more current thereby implying that among the primary target audience, the painting achieved effectiveness by winning their emotional appeal to the painting. Just as any other member of the high society, Mathew dresses expensively and is engaged in a formal conversation possibly discussing the economic trend. The formal aura of the setting communicates the most important aspects of the event, which Jesus interrupts as he walks into the room with Peter. The painting is simple enough since it depicts the basics of the iconic event. The use of the beam of light to identify Mathew is a means of achieving emotional appeal it appears supernatural. Furthermore, the adherents of the faith believed that the calling of Mathew to the faith just as is the case with any other established members of the society was supernatural. It therefore portrays the divine ability of Jesus and the Christian faith. Madonna of Loreto In lieu to earning recognition among the common person, Caravaggio used bizarre models in the highly emotional paintings he produces. The Madonna of Loreto is one of the most iconic works he produced. The portrait of Virgin Marry with a baby in her hand is that of a common prostitute that Caravaggio decides to use to pose in the painting. Marry is the highest figure in the catholic faith. She was a holy figure and a great influencer of the faith. She was a virgin before she gave birth to Jesus the inceptor of the faith. By deciding to use a prostitute in her simulation was therefore controversial and earned the disapproval of the church and its leaders. However, through the controversy that the portrait earns, Caravaggio earns the relevance for which he uses the portrait as more people try to conceptualize the ideas in the portrait. Caravaggio therefore develops this painting of Marry with her baby and the iconography of her holy status is crowning her head together with that of the baby Jesus. The painting therefore won the sympathy and the fear of most people as it made real the hearsay that people shared. In retrospect, Caravaggio established himself with the new era in arts through his introduction of simple and realistic paintings most of which espoused the emotional appeal of his target audience. Through his series of works, he validates the claim that the audience of a work of art determines the nature of the artifact an artist develops. Works cited Berenson, Bernard. Caravaggio, His Incongruity and His Fame. London: Chapman & Hall, 1953. Print. Gilbert, Creighton. Caravaggio and His Two Cardinals. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State UP, 1995. Print. Hubala, Erich. Baroque and Rococo. New York: Universe, 1989. Print. Langdon, Helen. Caravaggio: A Life. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1999. Print. Read More