Download The Catholic Reformation and the Baroque Style

The Catholic Reformation and the Baroque Style
Chapter 20 Discussion Guide
Catholic Reformation – 1540
Ignatius Loyola –Spiritual Exercises (1548)
Protestant Reformation
Martin Luther – Ninety-Five Theses – 1517
Jesuit Order – a mixture of two elements:
mysticism and militant religious zeal (see
Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises – pg. 4).
Scripture is the sole basis for religious
interpretation. Salvation is attainted through faith
in God’s grace rather than good works.
Militant return to fundamental Catholic dogma
and strict enforcement of traditional Church
teachings, including allegiance to the Pope,
venerating and praying to the saints and images
in the churches, Virgin Mary as Mother,
Intercessor and Protector (see Figure 20.1 – The
Virgin of Guadalupe – pg. 5)
Church beliefs and practices under attack by
Protestant reformers included: purgatory, devotion
to Mary, the intercession of and devotion to the
saints, most of the sacraments, mandatory celibacy
of clergy, the authority of the Pope, the sale of
indulgences (the granting of forgiveness) for
specific good works and prayers, buying and
selling church positions, and corruption in the
Church’s hierarchy.
Mysticism – emphasized the personal and
intuitive experience of God. Intensely
personalized religious expressions. Emphasis on
heightened spirituality and on personal visionary
experience acquired by way of the senses.
Militant Religious Zeal – an attitude of
unquestioned submission to the churches as the
absolute source of truth. Put aside all judgments
of your own and remain obedient to the Holy
Mother, the Hierarchical Church.
Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)
Visionary – * Her visions marry sensory experience to spiritual contemplation.
* Kinship between physical suffering and psychic bliss – between divine and erotic
fulfillment.
* Love is the desire for oneness with God.
* Autobiographical writings have a sensuous, passionate tone.
The Age of the Baroque – Western Europe, 1600-1750
* Dramatic Expression * Theatrical Spectacle * Spatial Grandeur * Exuberant Expansion * Human Ambition
to Master Nature on a Colossal Scale * Aristocratic Style * Reflected Scientific Revolution *
Italy – Mirrored the intensely religious mood of the Catholic Reformation
Northern Europe - * Reflected intimate spirit of Protestant Devotionalism
* Sensory experience associated with the New Science
* Glorified Secular Power and Wealth
Mannerist Painting
The clearly defined, symmetrical compositions of the High Renaissance painters gave way to mannerism, a style
marked by:
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Spatial Complexity (irrational space) * Artificiality * Affectation * Figural Distortions * Dissonant
Colors
General disregard for the “rules” of Renaissance painting (eliminating the need to idealize figures and
settings).
A new psychological intensity to visual expression – addresses the passions rather than the intellect.
Paintings that mirrored the self-conscious spirituality and the profound insecurities of an age of religious
wars and political rivalry.
Italian baroque art – characterized by asymmetric compositions, dynamic contrasts of light and dark, an
expanded sense of space, and the illusionistic staging of subject matter.
Italian baroque artists worked to increase the dramatic expressiveness of religious subject matter in order to
give viewers the sense that they were participating in the action of the scene – they copied nature faithfully
and without idealization.
Caravaggio recreated the early Christian past as though its major events were occurring in the local taverns
and streets of 16th century Italy, bringing sacred subjects down to earth with an almost camera-like
naturalism, transforming biblical miracles into human narratives, appealing to the senses rather than to the
intellect.
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Michelangelo – The Last Judgment (Figure 20.3 - pg. 8)
Parmigianino – Madonna of the Long Neck (Figure 20.4 – pg. 9)
Tintoretto – The Last Supper (Figure 20.5 – pg. 10)
El Greco – The Agony in the Garden (Figure 20.7 – pg. 11)
Caravaggio – The Supper at Emmaus (Figure 20.8 – pg. 12)
Baroque Sculpture in Italy
Bernini (1598-1680) – brought the theatrical spirit of baroque painting to Italian architecture and sculpture. He
challenged Renaissance sculptural tradition by investing his work with a daring degree of dramatic theatricality – to
“render marble flexible” – to animate the figure – to reinforce the viewer’s role as witness to an actual event.
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Bernini – The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa (Figure 20.2 – pg. 6)
Bernini – Fountain of the Four Rivers (Figure 20.11 – pg. 14)
Bernini – David (Figure 20.12 – pg. 15)