Baroque art today is regarded with wonder and respect for the talented artists that produced such pieces. The term baroque though was once derogatory and in fact means odd or irregularly shaped. It was used in the eighteenth century to describe the styles departure from the Italian Renaissance. Surviving pieces of Baroque art today have common elements, although they also have many differences. While Baroque art was initially practiced by Catholic artists, the style was later widely adopted even by Protestants. Thus, Catholic Baroque art shares many similarities with Protestant Baroque art but the disagreements between these two religious beliefs also reflect on their art pieces.
The Catholic resurgence known as the Counter-Reformation occurred during the Thirty Years War, which ended in 1648. The Counter-Reformation pushed forward all the practices and beliefs the Protestant Reformation went up against. While Protestants were iconoclasts who were repulsed by religious sculptures and paintings in churches, Catholics glorified and created more images as they reaffirmed the communion of saints. In the seventeenth century, the Catholic Church was the largest source of artistic commissions and it aimed to forward its beliefs through art pieces made in the Baroque style (Nici 312).
At the end of the sixteenth century, Baroque art started to flourish to express the mentality and ideas of the Counter-Reformation. Dominant motifs in Baroque art include mystery, drama, passion and grandeur. Generally, as can be seen in the Jesuit church of Gesu in Rome, Baroque attempts to integrate all art forms to achieve a unified religious experience. Massive emotionally sculpted statues of saints and other religious figures were created to evoke the peoples faith in Catholic heroes and heroines. Wall murals richly decorated and colored with Biblical events emphasize the power and grace of God. Two of the most famous Catholic artists were Giovanni Bernini and Peter Paul Rubens who produced spectacular pieces still revered today (McGonigle 27).
As for Protestant Baroque art, Dutch masters Rembrandt and Vermeer stand out among others with their fabulous art pieces. While Rembrandt was careful not to be a dogmatist, he did believe in basic Protestant beliefs. One of the most common features of paintings by Protestant Dutch masters is fluctuating light that gives off an expressive and mysterious atmosphere. Rembrandt utilized chiaroscuro in his pictorial representations along with a bold impasto to create pieces loaded with visual and spiritual meaning. He also emphasized a Protestant belief through the use of light that spirituality is not separate from real life, and that these two compose one unified existence (Barber 277). Thus, the sacred and the secular exist at the same time in the lives of people.
Catholic Baroque architecture is very similar to its painting counterpart. Baroque architects highlighted movement and contrast to increase the visual impact of their works. Churches and other buildings designed in this style had numerous twisted columns, swags, volutes, and an overwhelming amount of detail to capture peoples attention and proclaim the beauty and power of God. The unwritten rule was to create everything in such away that nothing is simple, rigid or restrained (White 27). The overall effect of these architectural pieces was a spectacular display of movement, exuberance and vitality seemingly to differentiate itself from its commonplace earthly surroundings.
As the Baroque style spread to the north, Protestants absorbed and changed it to serve different purposes. For example, in Holland, the Mauritshuis in the Hague was designed in the Baroque style, thus the grandeur shared by Catholic Baroque buildings. However, the Mauritshuis noticeably has less detail than its Catholic counterparts. The main principle in Protestant Baroque architecture seems to be controlled movement, power and elegance.
When it comes to Baroque literature, the poet Richard Crashaw epitomizes the sensibilities of Catholic Baroque writers. Like Baroque churches that cant be contained by the usual boundaries of architecture, Baroque poetry cant be controlled by the usual limits of meter, conventional metaphors, and other literary traditions. Crashaw along with other writers tried to come up with grand metaphors to describe their overwhelming religious feelings (Summitt 87). Their metaphors were so expressive that they sometimes verged on grotesque. For example, Crashaws Hymn to Saint Teresa vividly illustrates the religious ecstasy of Saint Teresa, describing her experience as similar to being pierced with a spear. He even mentioned delicious wounds to project Saint Teresas suffering (Hopkins and Steggle 96).
Protestant Baroque literature also showed characteristics of grandeur and passion though it pushed for a different set of beliefs. One of the most significant Protestant literary works in Baroque style is John Miltons Paradise Lost, which tried to join Christian beliefs with the principles of Renaissance humanism (Reich and Cunningham 196). Milton, who had diverse religious beliefs but was generally a Protestant, expressed heightened spirituality, drama and psychological insight in this classic literary piece.
Catholic and Protestant Baroque both illustrate the powerful passion of the people in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries who wanted change. While Catholic Baroque of the Counter-Reformation strived to emphasize the value and beauty of religion, Protestant Baroque maintained the importance of the secular in spiritually connecting with God. Both types of Baroque show that specific feelings can be evoked through the use of different techniques in various art forms. In painting, architecture and literature, both are also useful models for todays artists who want to learn how to express powerful movement and emotion through their work. Thus, Catholic and Protestant Baroque art pieces must be preserved.
The Catholic resurgence known as the Counter-Reformation occurred during the Thirty Years War, which ended in 1648. The Counter-Reformation pushed forward all the practices and beliefs the Protestant Reformation went up against. While Protestants were iconoclasts who were repulsed by religious sculptures and paintings in churches, Catholics glorified and created more images as they reaffirmed the communion of saints. In the seventeenth century, the Catholic Church was the largest source of artistic commissions and it aimed to forward its beliefs through art pieces made in the Baroque style (Nici 312).
At the end of the sixteenth century, Baroque art started to flourish to express the mentality and ideas of the Counter-Reformation. Dominant motifs in Baroque art include mystery, drama, passion and grandeur. Generally, as can be seen in the Jesuit church of Gesu in Rome, Baroque attempts to integrate all art forms to achieve a unified religious experience. Massive emotionally sculpted statues of saints and other religious figures were created to evoke the peoples faith in Catholic heroes and heroines. Wall murals richly decorated and colored with Biblical events emphasize the power and grace of God. Two of the most famous Catholic artists were Giovanni Bernini and Peter Paul Rubens who produced spectacular pieces still revered today (McGonigle 27).
As for Protestant Baroque art, Dutch masters Rembrandt and Vermeer stand out among others with their fabulous art pieces. While Rembrandt was careful not to be a dogmatist, he did believe in basic Protestant beliefs. One of the most common features of paintings by Protestant Dutch masters is fluctuating light that gives off an expressive and mysterious atmosphere. Rembrandt utilized chiaroscuro in his pictorial representations along with a bold impasto to create pieces loaded with visual and spiritual meaning. He also emphasized a Protestant belief through the use of light that spirituality is not separate from real life, and that these two compose one unified existence (Barber 277). Thus, the sacred and the secular exist at the same time in the lives of people.
Catholic Baroque architecture is very similar to its painting counterpart. Baroque architects highlighted movement and contrast to increase the visual impact of their works. Churches and other buildings designed in this style had numerous twisted columns, swags, volutes, and an overwhelming amount of detail to capture peoples attention and proclaim the beauty and power of God. The unwritten rule was to create everything in such away that nothing is simple, rigid or restrained (White 27). The overall effect of these architectural pieces was a spectacular display of movement, exuberance and vitality seemingly to differentiate itself from its commonplace earthly surroundings.
As the Baroque style spread to the north, Protestants absorbed and changed it to serve different purposes. For example, in Holland, the Mauritshuis in the Hague was designed in the Baroque style, thus the grandeur shared by Catholic Baroque buildings. However, the Mauritshuis noticeably has less detail than its Catholic counterparts. The main principle in Protestant Baroque architecture seems to be controlled movement, power and elegance.
When it comes to Baroque literature, the poet Richard Crashaw epitomizes the sensibilities of Catholic Baroque writers. Like Baroque churches that cant be contained by the usual boundaries of architecture, Baroque poetry cant be controlled by the usual limits of meter, conventional metaphors, and other literary traditions. Crashaw along with other writers tried to come up with grand metaphors to describe their overwhelming religious feelings (Summitt 87). Their metaphors were so expressive that they sometimes verged on grotesque. For example, Crashaws Hymn to Saint Teresa vividly illustrates the religious ecstasy of Saint Teresa, describing her experience as similar to being pierced with a spear. He even mentioned delicious wounds to project Saint Teresas suffering (Hopkins and Steggle 96).
Protestant Baroque literature also showed characteristics of grandeur and passion though it pushed for a different set of beliefs. One of the most significant Protestant literary works in Baroque style is John Miltons Paradise Lost, which tried to join Christian beliefs with the principles of Renaissance humanism (Reich and Cunningham 196). Milton, who had diverse religious beliefs but was generally a Protestant, expressed heightened spirituality, drama and psychological insight in this classic literary piece.
Catholic and Protestant Baroque both illustrate the powerful passion of the people in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries who wanted change. While Catholic Baroque of the Counter-Reformation strived to emphasize the value and beauty of religion, Protestant Baroque maintained the importance of the secular in spiritually connecting with God. Both types of Baroque show that specific feelings can be evoked through the use of different techniques in various art forms. In painting, architecture and literature, both are also useful models for todays artists who want to learn how to express powerful movement and emotion through their work. Thus, Catholic and Protestant Baroque art pieces must be preserved.
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