Catholic and Protestant Sensibilities in Art

The Reformation and Counter-Reformation dealt with more than just the issue of transubstantiation in Western Christianity -- the different sensibilities of the Protestants and the Catholics also manifested itself in art. While the Protestants were off committing iconoclasm of Catholic icons, many artists were hard at work painting and sculpting their way into history. Subjects of Protestant art typically did not emphasise depictions of the saints, the Virgin Mary, and the Passion nearly as much as in Catholic pieces. Subjects of non-secular pieces often focused on other Bible scenes or depictions of wholesome family life. Depictions of the Crucifixion became much less common, and, as compared to in Catholic churches, Protestant churches often chose instead images of the Last Supper as their alterpieces.

Below are two pieces, one by a Reformer, the other by a Counter-Reformer.

Pieter Bruegel's Children's Games, 1560 is currently on display at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. In this painting you can see children playing games in a town's square. Some of these games are rather harmless while some seem more disturbing, such as lighting fires and poking at feces with a stick. The idea Bruegel may have been trying to suggest in this painting is one that is characteristically Prostestant: we form our own relationship with god and grow closer to him through our actions. Rather than depictions of Saints being holy with their fancy halos and junk, Protestants preferred to convey their wholesome Christian values through scenes of morality (or lack of) in daily life.

Caravaggio was one of the most skilled artists from the Counter-Reformation. His work, commissioned by his Patron Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte. Here is his piece The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, c.1602. Many of his other pieces can be seen at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.