The Protestant Reformation - Book Report/Review Example

Protestant Reformation on Religious Art The reformations witnessed in the art by Protestants was a revolt against what the Protestants considered as insults that had continually been perpetuated by the church in Rome and the papacy. The character of Protestant art was fundamentally different from that of high renaissance art. Protestant art was more personal and avoided indulgence in large scale biblical art. Protestant reformation of art was characterized by the shift to small-scale biblical works that carried with them a moral lesson or a Christian message.

The defining characteristic of Protestant Reformation art is that it portrayed the individual relationship that the worshipper had with (Kleiner, 5) God. The shift in the emphases of Protestant art was influential in dictating the works of art that emerged after the Reformation. Protestant Reformation art involved the use of ordinary daily scenes and showed a significant downplaying of previously significant mysteries of faith. Works of art that were indicative of the reformation include the painting of the last judgment by Michael Angelo.

The painting was significantly different from the painting of the ceiling that was also done in the Sistine Chapel by Michael Angelo. The Sistine Chapel ceiling painting was part of the High Renaissance art and involved large-scale biblical works of art such as the portrayal of the touching of the hand of God and that of Adam. The painting of the last judgment which was also done in the Sistine Chapel differs from this ceiling painting in that it was devoid of grandiose biblical references (Kleiner, 10).

The painting demonstrated the second coming of the Christ with everyone painted nude in order to strip them of any rank that one may have had in their life on earth. In conclusion, the use large scale biblical works of art that were perpetuated by the church in Rome and the papacy was replaced by the use of daily ordinary scenes in religious painting. The use of large scale biblical works of art was believed to distract people from the word of God, and this was the major reason for Protestant reformation.

Work CitedKleiner, Fred. Gardners Art Through the Ages: A Concise History of Western Art. Cengage Learning, 2013. Print.