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Catholic Counter-Reformation ArtHistory, Characteristics: Council of Trent Guidelines. MAIN A-Z INDEX – A-Z of ART MOVEMENTS

Triumph of the Name of Jesus (1584) By Giovanni Battista Gaulli (1639-1709) Quadratura mural on the ceilingof the Church of the GesuPiazza del Gesu, Rome.

ContentsWhat is Roman Catholic Counter-Reformation Art? • History: The Reformation and The Decline in Spirituality of Art • The Council of Trent • Characteristics of Catholic Counter-Reformation Art • The Baroque Art Movement • Catholic Art in Italy • Catholic Art in Spain and Naples • Catholic Art in Flanders

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Ecstasy of Saint Teresa (1647-52) By Giovanni Bernini.Cornaro Chapel, Santa Maria della Vittoria.

EVOLUTION OF VISUAL ARTFor details of art movementsand styles, see: History of Art.For chronological details, see:History of Art Timeline.

What is Roman Catholic Counter-Reformation Art? The term "Catholic Counter-Reformation art" describes the more stringent, doctrinal style of Christian art which was developed during the period c.1560-1700, in response to Martin Luther’s revolt against Rome (1517) and the Protestant Reformation art which followed. This stricter style of Catholic Biblical art – launched by the Council of Trent (1545-63) – was designed to highlight the theological differences between Catholicism and Protestantism, by focusing on the mysteries of the faith, as well as the roles of the Virgin Mary and the Saints. It was supposed to revitalize Catholic congregations across Europe, thus minimizing the effects of the Protestant revolt. To inject momentum into its campaign, the Roman Church – aided by the newly-formed Jesuit order, as well as wealthy pious individuals – began commissioning new architecture, works of altarpiece art (mostly large-scale oil paintings) , inspirational church fresco paintings, and major pieces of ecclesiastical sculpture and wood carving. Staunch supporters of the Catholic Counter-Reformation and its religious art included Italy, Spain and its colonies of Flanders and Naples, as well as southern Germany. Its leading exponents were therefore Italian Baroque artists like Caravaggio, Pietro da Cortona, Bernini, and Andrea Pozzo; the school of Spanish Painting, such as El Greco, Ribera and Francisco de Zurbaran; and the Flemish master Peter Paul Rubens.

History: The Reformation; The Decline in Spirituality of Art Two important factors shaped the art of the Catholic Counter-Reformation, during the 16th and 17th centuries. First, a growth in the level of corruption within the Roman Catholic Church, from the Pope down. It was this corruption (specifically the sale of indulgences to finance the renovation of St Peter’s in Rome), overseen by Pope Leo X (1513-21), that caused Luther to launch his Protestant rebellion.

The second factor was artistic though it, too, reflected a similar spiritual decline. During the 15th century, Early Renaissance painting commissioned by the Church or its Christian followers, gradually became less and less religious. The Tornabuoni Chapel frescoes (1485–90), for instance, by Domenico Ghirlandaio, seem to be more focused on the details of bourgeois city life than on their actual subjects, the Life of the Virgin and that of John the Baptist. Also, secular priorities began to intrude: the influential Andrea Mantegna (1431-1506), for instance, became increasingly involved with the rich Gonzaga family in Mantua, while even the devout Botticelli (1445-1510) spent time painting a number of pagan works for the powerful Medici family in Florence: see, for example, Primavera 1482, and The Birth of Venus 1485, both marked by substantial nudity. The activity of the fiery Dominican preacher Girolamo Savonarola (1452-98) – culminating in his Bonfire of the Vanities in 1497 – was a clear indication of the lack of Christian devotion as well as the growing decadence of the time. The situation was further exacerbated during the era of High Renaissance painting, as Humanism (characteristically expressed in the male and female nude) became an important feature of Renaissance aesthetics : as demonstrated in the marble statue of David by Michelangelo (1501-4), and the ignudi in the Genesis fresco (1508-12) on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, by the same artist. Worse was to follow, as the High Renaissance gave way to the optical pretensions of Mannerist painting, during the 1520s and 30s: as exemplified by works like the Deposition Altarpiece (1526-8) in the Capponi Chapel, Florence, by Pontormo (1494-1557). This non-traditional approach to art did not go down well with either Protestants or the more conservative factions in Rome. Another contentious work was Wedding Feast at Cana (1563) by Veronese.