Reformation and Counter-Reformation / A persuasive language for religious art

The directions of the Council of Trent extol the power of images and their ability to inspire “piety, modesty, sanctity and devotion."

The directions of the Council of Trent (Gabriele Paleotti, Discourse on Sacred and Profane Images, 1582) extol the power of images and their ability to inspire “piety, modesty, sanctity and devotion", this power being such that “they penetrate us with greater violence than words”.
The search for “naturalism”, set against the excesses of Mannerism, coincides with the rediscovery of simplicity. Subjects related to the protomartyrs and places of worship related to them re-establish the value of the original Church.
In Spiritual Exercises, Ignatius of Loyola encourages the recreation, “with the mind’s eye”, of the sacred scene to be meditated upon.
During the 17th century, Baroque art would realise the principles of the Counter-Reformation through the conscious use of visual language as a means of persuasion and communication.

NameDynastyDetailsJustification
Annunciation1584Pinacoteca Nazionale
Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
The painting is considered one of the most important examples of Italian art during the Counter-Reformation. It represents many of Cardinal Paleotti's instructions for more convincing and intimate representations of sacred themes.
St. Jeromec. 1598Borghese Gallery
Rome, Latium, Italy
Toward the end of the 16th century, Barocci developed a style characterised by a strong emotive element that anticipates Baroque sensitivity. The intimate and affectionate feeling that pervades his painting is particularly representative of the spirit of the Counter-Reformation Church.
NameDynastyDetailsJustification
St. Jerome1605/06Borghese Gallery
Rome, Latium, Italy
A few years after Barocci's stylistic breakthrough, Caravaggio painted the powerful figure of Saint Jerome. The saint assumes great significance during the Counter-Reformation, both as a model of life and as author of the first translation of the sacred texts from Hebrew and Greek into Latin, the Vulgate.
The Martyrdom of St. Ursula1600Church of San Nicola e San Domenico
Imola, Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
The composition represents one of the traditionally most bloody massacres of women. The theme of martyrdom, the theatrical gestures of the characters and the dramatic contrast between light and shadow would become the basis of Baroque art.
The Beheading of St. Paul1633–1647Church of San Paolo Maggiore
Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
The hemicycle backdrop of the chapel helps to bring the viewer into the scene, which highlights the contrast between the deliberate martyrdom of the saint and the dynamic gesture of the executioner.
Saint Charles Borromeo Administers the Sacrament to the Plague-Infected1752–53Christian Museum of Esztergom
Esztergom, Közép-Magyarország / Central Hungary, Hungary
Charles Borromeo, nephew of Pius IV, was a key figure at the Council of Trent and in the renewal of form and content in the Counter-Reformation Church. The traditional iconography of the emaciated saint taking the sacrament to the plague-ridden summarises the meaning of his austere moral rigour.
Parish Church of Sümeg1756–1757Sümeg, Nyugat-Magyarország / West Hungary, HungaryIn the most extreme phase of the Baroque, the search for a highly suggestive effect resulted, in painting, in efforts to nullify architectural structures. The illusory technique draws the faithful into a visionary vortex to mystical ecstasy.
NameDynastyDetailsJustification
Parish Church of Sümeg1756–1757Sümeg, Nyugat-Magyarország / West Hungary, HungaryThis cycle of frescos uses perspective illusions and chromatic qualities to make the forms appear evanescent.
Parish Church of Sümeg1756–1757Sümeg, Nyugat-Magyarország / West Hungary, HungaryThe pathos of the crucifixion scene is taken to the extremes of theatricality.