Western Art and Christianity During the Past Essay

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Western Art and Christianity

During the past millennium, Western art has been heavily influenced by Christianity. Art is an extension of the many complex thoughts and images that swim within an artist's mind. Because many Western artists have traditionally been raised in a Christian environment, it is difficult for their religious beliefs to be fully separated from their artwork, and oftentimes it is embraced in the works, or a patron has requested it be the specific subject matter. Although this heavy Christian influence would see a swift departure during the Renaissance, it would remain engrained in Western culture until the present day.

The Reformation heralded a swift separation between Christians in Europe, as Roman Catholics and Protestants divided roughly along a North to South split. Protestants seemed to dominate the North while the South remained dominated by Catholic countries. While much of the art in Protestant countries retained a secular subject matter and form, little of the works could escape the influence of the Reformation.

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Notably, Peter Brueghel the Elder's The Hunters in the Snow, created in 1565, exemplifies many of the emotions and stylistic choices of the era. Although his patron, Niclaes Jonghelinck, was a devout Protestant, the work seems to pine for simpler times prior to this religious upheaval. The work screams of Protestant influence, but depicts a somewhat depressing scene. Several hunters have returned from an unsuccessful hunting trip, in the snow, and there is merely a tiny, malnourished, dead fox to show as a reward. The painting's mood is enhanced with a grey toned sky, and this work has all the elements of turmoil present within the Reformation.

An even more religiously influenced work, most specifically due to the subject matter, Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper, depicts the Last Supper of Jesus Christ, on the evening he announces that one of his apostles will betray him.….....

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