What is art? As many would understand it, art is whatever you want it to be. To all those who believe that you are wrong. Art is much more with a wide plethora of meaning and context. Art has inspired movements and a way of life for many. Some of the more notable movements involved the Roman Catholic Church. Two of the most famous movements are the High Renaissance and the Baroque Period. While both of these periods are similar, it can easily be argued that they are far more distinct in their own cultures and inspirations. To begin, what’s most similar between the two periods is who they did their artwork for. Plainly, it was the church. However; the culture of the individuals and the art style involved were significantly different.
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During the time of the High Renaissance, one of the most important things they managed to achieve was realism. What this was, is physically bringing heaven on earth. First is by making the environment more realistic and set to earth with scale, perspective, and detail. Secondly by making the religious figures in the paintings humanistic. The idea behind realism is an attempt to bring the viewer closer to God, in order to encourage piety. However; by making a figure humanistic might that takes away from the authority of the religious figure? Arguably yes, Leonardo Davinci created a style of art that didn’t take away from this authoritative stature. This was the idealized style of beauty that separated the common from the divine, in appearance as well as grace of movement. However; in 1517 it was the start of a new era when Martin Luther a German Professor of theology questioned the catholic church and its teachings. During the time of the High Renaissance, the church was obviously involved with absolving the sin of the common man. As people would understand it, the usual way to rid yourself of sin was to attend church. However; other methods included good works for the church such as creating art or buying indulgences which were supposed to allow the soul to enter heaven more quickly. Martin Luther opposed this and came to the conclusion that the answer to salvation wasn’t with the church, it was through an individual's faith. Following this is his famous 95 theses that he tacked to the door of the church regarding his concerns for the church such as their corruption and greed. This was the beginning of the Protestant Reformation and following that soon after was the Counter-Reformation, this is the cause of a century of turmoil between the Catholics and newly founded Protestants. After all the turmoil, there was an inspiration in the church for a newly founded art style. Something that would not just allow those to just understand, but to instruct, inspire, and move the faithful witnessing the religious figures before their eyes. This is what’s known as the Baroque style, and it’s characterized by the contrast of light and dark, tightly-cropped compositions, and the dramatic realism caught in the span of a moment that all together drew and involved the viewer into these paintings and sculptures.
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Roman Catholic Church During the Renaissance: Informative Essay.
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