StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Reformation and the Arts - Assignment Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper "Reformation and the Arts" aims to discuss the Protestant Reformation—its key early events and issues—and its causes. Then the paper will describe the Counter-Reformation and, using examples, discuss the impact of each on the visual arts…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER94.5% of users find it useful
Reformation and the Arts
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Reformation and the Arts"

Reformation and the Arts Discuss the Protestant Reformation—its key early events and issues—and its Causes. Then describe the Counter-Reformation. Then, using examples, discuss the impact of each on the visual arts. The great schism in the Catholic Church during the Renaissance period would eventually lead to the Reformation as believers saw the church moving away from their ideal of God. Reformers such as Martin Luther formed separate sects outside the church to correct what they perceived as heresy.

In an attempt to keep the followers in the church, the Catholic religion undertook their own self-reformation, which came to be known as the Counter-Reformation. One aspect of their disagreement was over the portrayal of their visual art. The resulting factions created different artistic styles, though their outcome would be counter productive to their original intent. The church had fallen under negative scrutiny during the fourteenth century and was marked by material excesses by church leaders while oppressing the lower clergy.

Humanism and the Renaissance ideas were cultivated in Rome and their perceived abuses became the target of newly empowered city-states. The decline of papal power and material corruption of the church during the 14th and 15th centuries set the stage for the first severe blow to the church, the papal schism in 1378 (Kirsch 1911). However, the most popular symbolic blow came when Martin Luther nailed the Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Church in 1517 (Bates 1999, Luther 1915). The Theses called for a dramatic overhaul of the church and began the Reformation.

The Counter-Reformation is the period of "Catholic revival from the pontificate of Pope Pius IV in 1560 to the close of the Thirty Years War, 1648" (Pollen 1908). During this period the church tried to rebuke the Lutherans and Protestants for their stand on the subservience of Church to State, the marriage of the clergy, and doctrinal error (Pollen 1908). However, the church underwent little fundamental change, did not alter the State constitutions, or generate any great enthusiasm by its members.

One noticeable change the church underwent was the portrayal of its visual arts. The church had moved away from art dominated by religious figures and had begun to portray man as the center of spiritualism as in Michelangelos Creation of Adam circa 1500. Reformers believed this elevated man to a state of spiritual arrogance and wanted art to represent only religious figures. The church did do some movement back toward commissioning strictly religious art during the Counter-Reformation (Nosotro 2005).

The Reformation movement, against the humanist movement, did not portray only divinity in their art as one might expect. According to Nosotro (2005), "While Protestant artists occasionally painted scenes from the Bible, they often painted ordinary people performing every-day activities [.] simple scenes from nature [and] portrait-painting became popular". Though they wanted to remove the material excesses away from the church, their art reflected the humanism of mankind and was little different from pre-Reformation times.

This ambiguous approach to the visual arts by the Reformation can be explained by analyzing their audience. While the wealthy church could commission art of its choosing, the Reformers had to serve the desires of their patronage. These were often wealthy patrons that demanded imposing and garish works to satisfy their local and family pride (Spelman 1951 p. 172). References Bates, L. (1999, August 2). Martin Luther 1483-1546. Retrieved January 26, 2007, from http://www.educ.msu.edu/homepages/laurence/reformation/Luther/Luther.

htm Kirsch, J. (1911). The Reformation. In Catholic Encyclopedia (Vol. 12). New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved January 26, 2007, from http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12700b.htm Luther, M. (1915). Disputation of Doctor Martin Luther on the power and efficacy of indulgences. Philadelphia: A. J. Holman Company. (Original work published 1517) Retrieved January 26, 2007, from http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/luther/ninetyfive.txt Nosotro, R. (2005). Art of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation .

Retrieved January 26, 2007, from http://www.hyperhistory.net/apwh/essays/comp/cw20reformationart.htm Pollen, J. H. (1908). The Counter-Reformation. In Catholic Encyclopedia (Vol. IV). New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved January 26, 2007, from http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04437a.htm Spelman, L. P. (1951). Luther and the arts [Electronic version]. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 10(2), 166-175. from JSTOR.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Reformation and the Arts Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4”, n.d.)
Reformation and the Arts Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/history/1539091-essay
(Reformation and the Arts Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words - 4)
Reformation and the Arts Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words - 4. https://studentshare.org/history/1539091-essay.
“Reformation and the Arts Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words - 4”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/history/1539091-essay.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Reformation and the Arts

Risk Factors Associated with the HIV Disease

Devise a national communications strategy aimed at educating and raising the awareness of young people in relation to the key risks of from and means of protection against the HIV disease.... Specific Background Information in Relation to AIDS No country in this world is exonerated from the risk and threat of HIV....
9 Pages (2250 words) Research Paper

Media: updated information from all parts of the world

The World is developing with a rapid pace.... With the super forces continuing to surge ahead, the under-developed and some developing nations are left behind in the race.... The mass media is increasing in its prowess every day and in some way or other it should play a big role in helping the Nations in distress....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Pro-Firearm and Anti-Firearm Information Dissemination

This research paper “Pro-Firearm and Anti-Firearm Information Dissemination” will look at two distinctly opposing views on the subject via their information websites and discuss the overall dissemination of information each provides, and the tools that would convince someone to join their cause....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Paralegal Class

Potential candidates are required to have a degree in arts The job vacancy requires an assistant paralegal.... Potential candidates are required to have a degree in arts or the sciences.... The job requires a fresh candidate who has just finished college or one who is making a transition from the corporate business immigration....
1 Pages (250 words) Assignment

Propaganda as Effective Arms in Information War

The research paper “Propaganda as Effective Arms in Information War” highlights a change of concepts that stand for the term “propaganda”.... Initially, the Roman Catholic Church used it as a neutral concept, then in the 20th century, propaganda became a means of manipulating the mass consciousness....
7 Pages (1750 words) Research Paper

What Impact did the Protestant Reformation have on Visual Arts

This work called "What Impact did the Protestant Reformation have on Visual arts?... describes the stages of the church reformation.... The church reformation started only as a religious movement led by Martin Luther and other religious activists together with Huldreich Zwingli and John Calvin.... This was referred to as reformation.... he reformation group chiefly started after Martin Luther his thoughts on the Catholic doctrine and the way of worship....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Information and Geography of the United Arab Emirates

The influence of Persian can be notably visible in the traditional folk arts and architecture of Emirati.... This paper "Information and Geography of the United Arab Emirates" presents is a country which is bordering Saudi Arabia to the south and Oman to the east.... Furthermore, it is situated towards the southeastern part of the Arabian Peninsula....
6 Pages (1500 words) Term Paper

How does the Media or Visual Art Influence People Perception of Asian Cultures

Perception can differ according… The basic purpose of our study is to evaluate and analyze as to how the people perceive Asian culture which is being portrayed in Media or visual arts (Mooij, 238).... nbsp;The research is meant to explore the influence of media or visual arts on the perception of people for the Asian Culture.... The basic purpose of our study is to evaluate and analyze how the people perceive Asian culture which is being portrayed in Media or visual arts (Mooij, 238)....
3 Pages (750 words) Research Proposal
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us