The Catholic Reformation and the Baroque Style Chapter 20 Discussion Guide

Catholic Reformation – 1540 Protestant Reformation Ignatius Loyola –Spiritual Exercises (1548) Martin Luther – Ninety-Five Theses – 1517

Jesuit Order – a mixture of two elements: Scripture is the sole basis for religious mysticism and militant religious zeal (see interpretation. Salvation is attainted through faith Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises – pg. 4). in God’s grace rather than good works.

Militant return to fundamental Catholic dogma Church beliefs and practices under attack by and strict enforcement of traditional Church Protestant reformers included: purgatory, devotion teachings, including allegiance to the Pope, to Mary, the intercession of and devotion to the venerating and praying to the saints and images saints, most of the sacraments, mandatory celibacy in the churches, Virgin Mary as Mother, of clergy, the authority of the Pope, the sale of Intercessor and Protector (see Figure 20.1 – The indulgences (the granting of forgiveness) for Virgin of Guadalupe – pg. 5) specific good works and prayers, buying and selling church positions, and corruption in the Mysticism – emphasized the personal and Church’s hierarchy. 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:

 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.

 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.

 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)