Essay 6a

Essay 6a. North and South

Question: Did the Protestant Reformation have any bearing on the development of art of the northern Renaissance that would follow and if so, how was that art as compared to the southern, or Italian Renaissance and why?

Part One:

SUMMARY: The Renaissance was an age of new discoveries. In religion, Martin Luther challenged and caused a division of the Church which had united Europe throughout the Middle Ages. Great thinkers of the Renaissance thought of themselves as ushering in the modern age. The Protestant Reformation was a movement that also had profound implications on art. Just as Renaissance Humanists rejected medieval thought, the Reformation essentially rejected the medieval ways of Christianity. I believe the two are closely related as both Renaissance (southern) and Reformation (northern) art was greatly impacted by religion.

REASON: I believe the reason for this question was to help us to understand how religion impacted art and how art could also be used to influence religious thought. I believe it was also asked to helped us understand Humanist influences on art.

PURPOSE:  I believe this question is intended to help us understand how humanistic thought truly had an influence on art in both the Renaissance and Reformation. This topic also showed me that the rise of humanism did not really affect a decline in the importance of Christianity but that it actually helped intensify Christian spirituality through the fifteenth century and beyond.

DIRECTION: My research helped me to further understand how external influences such as religious beliefs could have such an impact on art.

IMPRESSIONS: I realized just how powerful an influence religion has had on art and how I believe it created a need for artists throughout history to “push the envelope” therefore greatly impacting artistic style.

Part Two:

Essay 6a              

Question: Did the Protestant Reformation have any bearing on the development of art of the northern Renaissance that would follow and if so, how was that art as compared to the southern, or Italian Renaissance and why?


The Renaissance, which comes from the Italian word rinascitá, which means "rebirth", welcomed creativity and change. There was a revival of the classical forms that were originally developed by the ancient Greeks and Romans, a greater interest in secular life and most importantly the ways people viewed themselves and their world. Art began to extend from its roots and therefore affecting the common ground of religion. During this time, people began to explore different and more richer types of human experience. A new emphasis on individual achievement began to evolve. At the heart of the Italian renaissance there was an intellectual movement known as humanism which was based on the study of classical culture. People began to focus on more worldly subjects rather than on religious issues that were so prevalent during the Protestant Reformation. This helped to strengthen the desire of people to explore and create and this new importance of the individual helped create a better balance between religion and what was once considered illicit. People now wanted to receive credit for their achievements instead of praising God for everything.

“Humanists believed that people were worthy and capable of determining their own destinies. This perspective contrasted sharply with the medieval view that humanity was irredeemably sinful and had value only through the infinite grace of God.” (Art History, Marilyn Stokstad, Pg. 614) The Renaissance was a time of Rebirth of the old Roman and Greek Civilization and therefore on Humanism which was based on the classical world. Francesco Petrarch is considered the father of humanism and although he did not reject Christianity he wanted to use classical thought to influence Christianity. Humanists wanted to reform Christianity for the better. (Art in Renaissance Italy. Paoletti, John T., and Gary M. Radke. Pg. 514)

In comparing Medieval and Renaissance Art, Medieval artists mostly painted saints and religious themes and did not present people with individual characteristics. Renaissance artists, however, contrasted between light and darkness and used three-dimensional images.

Giovanni Panini, Interior of a Picture Gallery with the Collection of Cardinal Silvio Valenti Gonzaga

In Florence, in the first half of the fifteenth century, there were great innovators in painting, sculpture and architecture, beginning a new era in the history of art. These included Masaccio (painting), Donatello (sculpture) and Brunelleschi (architecture). The idea of artistic genius became popular thus Michelangelo was called "divine" because of the greatness of his creative powers. (http://vlib.iue.it/carrie/texts/carrie_books/gilbert/07.html)

Donatello, St John the Evangelist

I believe the most influential artist of the Renaissance was Leonardo da Vinci. A talented painter and sculptor, he truly captured the ideals of the renaissance. In addition to The Last Supper, Leonardo's greatest known work is the Mona Lisa.

Leonardo da Vinci

Last Supper (1495-98)

Leonardo da Vinci

Mona Lisa (1503 - 1506)

In 1500 the Protestant Reformation resulted with the split in Western Christendom but most importantly the ideals of people. It began a new artistic tradition that was very different from the European humanist art produced during the Renaissance. “Protestant theology focused on the individual relationship between the worshipper and the divine.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Reformation_and_art). The focus on a person’s relationship with God is depicted in art during that time. Art that portrayed religious figures or scenes adhered to Protestant theology “by portraying people and stories that emphasized salvation through divine grace and not through personal deeds or by intervention of church bureaucracy.” Iconic images and portrayals of saints became less frequent. “One tragic consequence of the Reformation was the destruction of religious art. In some areas, Protestant zealots smashed sculpture and stained-glass windows and whitewashed religious painting to rid the churches of what they considered to be idolatrous images. (Art History, Marilyn Stokstad, 683)

(http://imagerepository.net/images/p/r/26/protestant-reformation-art/1-protestant-reformation-art.jpg)

Protestant religious art not only embraced Protestant values but assisted in spreading Protestantism Artists in Protestant countries focused on secular forms of art that included landscape and portrait painting and historical events. Narrative scenes from the Bible and depictions of a moralistic modern life became very popular. Most scenes depicted the Protestant view that salvation can only come through the grace of God.During that time, however, the Catholic Counter-Reformation responded to the Protestant criticisms of Roman Catholic art by creating a more stringent style of art.

Francisco Pacheco 1564-1654Don Diego González de Mendoza

During the Renaissance, the Church maintained control over art and therefore the people and their way of thinking. In comparison  “the Protestant Reformation was an attempt by the common people of Northern Europe to reclaim the experience of New Testament Christianity, both in their secular and religious lives.” (http://www.forerunner.com/forerunner/X0223_Western_Civilization.html)

While the Reformation was the outcome of the earlier Renaissance humanist artists who shed new light on things, the impact of Martin Luther sparked a great many religious controversies. (http://staff.jccc.net/jjackson/reformation.htm) These controversies as reflected in both renaissance and reformation art, although contradictory, were clearly joined by a common bond – religion.