REFORMATION ART
Lutheran art is illustrative but not embellished. There was a split in the Protestant
Church over the use of art. Luther stated he was not “of the opinion that the Gospel
should blight and destroy the arts.” He also believed it had a purpose in that
“children and simple folk are more apt to retain the divine stories when taught by
pictures and parables than merely by words or instruction.” (He felt the same way
about music, even composing hymns himself, the most famous of which is A Mighty
Fortress is our God which you can hear at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6k8DFb8fWs&feature=related The picture is
of the church interior is of the Wittenberg Castle Church where Luther supposedly
posted his 95 Theses. It has statues and stained class windows.
Hans Holbein The Younger’s Noli Me Tangere . (This is the same Hans Holbein who
painted the Tudor royal family.) The painting depicts the Bible story where Mary
Magdalene recognizes Jesus after his resurrection and he tells her “don’t touch me”
or “touch me not”. The painting is very naturalistic – there isn’t any gold or an
emphasis on halos. It is said that this painting represents Holbein’s own personal
faith – realistic, straight from the Bible, along the lines of what Luther intended.
Albrecht Durer’s The Last Supper. One of many religious woodcuts and paintings
done by Durer who was increasingly sympathetic to the Protestant cause. It is very
illustrative – teaching the Bible story very directly. (It should be noted that Durer
also continued to do works for Catholic Church.)
Durer’s Praying Hands (a study for a larger work) and Durer’s portrait of Philipp
Melanchthon, Luther’s main collaborator show his attention to detail without losing
focus on his subject. (Little extraneous detail in Lutheran art.) Melanchthon was a
Lutheran theologian in his own right, he also represented Luther at meetings that
Luther could not travel to due to concerns about Luther’s safety.
Anglican art remained fairly sumptious. Anglicans kept the decorations of the
formerly Catholic Churches. The Anglican Church was founded on the Elizabethan
Settlement which tried to find a middle way between Catholics and Puritans.
Calvinists shunned decoration. Calvinists believed that it was impossible to portray
God, attempting to do so would strip God of his glory. Initially Calvin allowed only
the words from scripture as decorations. Later in life he allowed the portrayal of
saints, so long as Christ and God were not portrayed. The picture is of St. Bavo’s
Church in Haarlem, The Netherlands.
In some places, in a wave of iconoclasm, Calvinists destroyed the ornamentation of
formerly Catholic Churches. The picture on the left is from McKay’s textbook. It
shows people breaking stained glass windows, removing statues and carrying off
devotional alterpieces. The picture on the right is of an alterpiece at St. Martin’s
Cathedral in Utrecht, The Netherlands. It was attacked in 1572, then covered by a
false wall. Restoration in 1919 revealed the alterpiece with all the heads knocked
out. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Martin%27s_Cathedral,_Utrecht
Presbyterian Church (the Scottish branch of Calvinism) so simple it could be a town
hall – in fact the structures were called “meeting halls”.
Catholics retain art that both illustrates and inspires through drama. At the
Council of Trent the Catholic “church declared that honor and veneration should be
given to likenesses of Christ, the Virgin Mary and the saints; that images would
remind people of the saints’ virtues, which should be imitated; and that pictorial art
would promote piety and the love of God.” (McKay) Caravaggio exemplifies the
Counter Reformation stress on religious figures painted in a very realistic way but
with a heightened sense of emotion, created in part by using chiaroscuro.
Smithsonian Magazine (10/2008) describes the work of Caravaggio as “new and
startling realism”.
The picture on the left is the crucifixion of St. Peter, on the right is the Entombment
of Christ
The Catholic Church encouraged “artists to appeal to the senses, to touch the soul
and kindle the faith of ordinary people while proclaiming the power and confidence
of the reformed Catholic Church.” This is the beginning of Baroque art which “drew
from the Catholic Reformation a sense of drama, motion and ceaseless striving”.
(McKay) It is soaring, highly decorated, emotional. It is supposed to make you feel
connected to your (Catholic) religion.
The Baldacchino (over the main alter at St. Peter’s in Rome)
1624 (commissioned by Pope Urban VIII)
Bronze, partly gilt
Basilica di San Pietro, Vatican
Created by Bernini
This Baldacchino covers the spot where St. Peter is supposed to be buried. It would
be typical to have a small temple over this spot. Bernini makes it look like a massive
bed. Leafy branches climb the columns and cloth-like tassels hand from the roof.
St. Peter’s in Rome looking toward the Baldacchino, St. Peter’s chair is beyond the
Baldacchino.
Bernini also designed the throne of St. Peter – a bronze casing around the relic of
the wooden throne thought to have belonged to St. Peter as the first pope. It is at
the back of St. Peters, beyond the Baldacchino, under a tinted window to bring in
warm, yellow light.
Baroque interior of Michelangelo’s Renaissance dome on the top of St. Peter’s
(directly above the Baldacchino)
Bernini also designed the Piazza San Peitro outside of St. Peter’s in Rome for Pope
Alexander VIII 25 years after designing the Baldacchino. He stated that the double
rows of columns radiating around the square are supposed to represent the
embracing arms of the church.
St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Passeu, Lower Bavaria – Every square inch decorated.
Bavaria was a key part of the Holy Roman Empire. It is in southern Germany and
remained Catholic. St. Stephens also has the world’s largest cathedral pipe organ.
(We’ll get to Baroque music later, but here is a Bach Baroque piece played on that
organ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bbzIs7suNo. The video is accompanied
by pictures of the cathedral, unfortunately much of the outside is covered by
scaffolding needed to rehab the cathedral. Interior pictures of the cathedral start at
4:37).
Ceiling of the Gesu, home base for the Jesuit movement (in Rome). The religious
figures seem to sweep right off of the ceiling. McKay describes this ceiling at
“triumphant, elaborate and flamboyant”.
Bernini’s portrayal of the highly emotionally charged moment when God’s arrow
pierces St. Therese’s heart. Bernini said that this was his most beautiful creation.
The Ecstasy of Saint Therese
1647-52
Marble, height 350 cm
Cappella Cornaro, Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome