Protestant Reformation

(noun)

The 16th century schism within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin, and other early Protestants; characterized by the objection to the doctrines, rituals, and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church and led to the creation of new national Protestant churches.

Related Terms

(noun)

The 16th century schism within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin, and other early Protestants; characterized by the objection to the doctrines, rituals, and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church and led to the creation of Protestant churches, which were outside of the control of the Vatican.

Related Terms

Examples of Protestant Reformation in the following topics:

  • Impact of the Protestant Reformation

    • The Reformation was a religious movement in the 16th century that resulted in the theological divide between Roman Catholics and Protestants.
    • The Protestant Reformation was a religious movement that occurred in Western Europe during the 16th century that resulted in the theological divide between Roman Catholics and Protestants.
    • The Protestant Reformation also capitalized on the popularity of printmaking in northern Europe.
    • The Protestant Reformation induced a wave of iconoclasm, or the destruction of religious imagery, among the more radical evangelists.
    • Describe the Protestant Reformation and its effects on Western European art of the 16th century

  • The Northern Renaissance

    • The Northern Renaissance was also closely linked to the Protestant Reformation, and the long series of internal and external conflicts between various Protestant groups and the Roman Catholic Church had lasting effects.
    • For example, in England and the northern Netherlands, the Reformation nearly ended the tradition of religious painting.

  • Rococo Architecture

    • The styles, despite both being richly decorated, also had different themes; the Baroque, for instance, was more serious, placing an emphasis on religion, and was often characterized by Christian themes (as a matter of fact, the Baroque began in Rome as a response to the Protestant Reformation); Rococo architecture was an 18th-century, more secular, adaptation of the Baroque which was characterized by more light-hearted and jocular themes.

  • Defining the Baroque Period

    • The most important factors during the Baroque era were the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation, with the development of the Baroque style considered to be linked closely with the Catholic Church.
    • The popularity of the style was in fact encouraged by the Catholic Church, which had decided at the Council of Trent that the arts should communicate religious themes and direct emotional involvement in response to the Protestant Reformation.

  • Mannerism and the Counter-Reformation

    • Mannerism concerned many Catholic leaders in the wake of the Reformation, as they were seen as lacking pious appeal.
    • Furthermore, a great divergence had arisen between the Catholic Church and Protestant reformers of Northern Europe regarding the content and style of art work.
    • The reforms that resulted from this council are what set the basis for Counter-Reformation art.
    • While the Protestants largely removed public art from religion and moved towards a more "secular" style of art, embracing the concept of glorifying God through depictions of nature, the Counter-Reformation Catholic Church promoted art with "sacred" or religious content.
    • Distinguish the artistic ideal of the Counter-Reformation from Mannerism and the art of the Reformation in Northern Europe

  • Living in Europe

    • Conflicts between the pope and the Holy Roman Empire continued in Central and Southern Europe that included a schism marked by two popes claiming the title and the first sparks of Protestant Reformation.

  • Italian Architecture in the Baroque Period

    • Whereas the Renaissance drew on the wealth and power of the Italian courts and was a blend of secular and religious forces, the Baroque was, initially at least, directly linked to the Counter-Reformation, a movement within the Catholic Church to reform itself in response to the Protestant Reformation.

  • German Painting in the Northern Renaissance

    • Dürer supported Martin Luther but continued to create Madonnas and other Catholic imagery, and to paint portraits of leaders on both sides of the emerging split of the Protestant Reformation.

  • Timeline

    • 1517: Martin Luther, of the Protestant Reformation, posts the 95 theses.

  • The Role of Flanders

    • Flanders was Catholic whereas the Dutch Republic was Protestant, which created a divide in the two regions' artistic themes and output.
    • Baroque architecture in Flanders developed quite differently than in the Protestant North.
    • Important architectural projects were set up in the vein of the Counter-Reformation.