The Use of Religion in Paintings during the Counter-Reformation :: Religious Art Artwork Catholic

Symbolism: The Way to Get Your Point Across â€Å"Baroque: Dominant style in western European art and architecture from late 16thC [entury] to mid- 18thC [entury]. Started in Rome, with the reassertion of Roman Catholicism in the Counter-Reformation. and then spread to northern Italy and other parts of Europe† as defined by a website containing nothing but art terms, is the time period that I chose to analyze how religion was used through paintings as ammunition for the Counter-Reformation. The Counter Reformation was a movement within the Catholic Church to reform itself in the midst of the Protestant Reformation. I am in awe at how we can look at something for just a short period of time and, in most cases, we can understand what is going on, or something hits us telling us what is meant to be seen or interpreted in a certain scenario. This process is called â€Å"thin-slicing†, as Malcolm Gladwell coined a phrase in his book Blink. In a very dark and some-what eerie painting—with the only form of light in the middle—that depicts a battle that has just been fought, the first thing that comes to mind is the thought of war and death. This painting can be found in the Lowe Art Museum at the University of Miami in the Renaissance and Baroque section. It is un-named and was painted by Giovanni Andrea Donducci, who was commonly known as Mastelleta, somewhere between 1611 and 1612. The historical time periods that do incorporate these two concepts prior to 1611 are endless. The fact that there is, what seems to be, a knight in the middle of the painting pointing to a city that is illuminated wearing plate and armor, it is deduced that this could be the Crusades. Upon further research, I have come to the conclusion that this image is most likely depicting the Crusades; due to the illuminated city, and the red flags, uniforms, and ornate pole arms, since the main colors were red and white. The Crusades were a series of wars in the name of God and Christendom, fought between Christians and Muslims, to claim the Kingdom of Heaven, also known as Jerusalem. The main symbol that is drawn out of these wars is God and Christ. The city that is illuminated in this painting could be Jerusalem and the people on mountain pointing towards the city could be the Christians fighting to reach the city and try to conquer it.