Protestant vs Catholic Art in the Kunsthistorisches Museum

Protestant Artphoto: courtesy of google images
Pieter Aertsen was famous for his still-life pieces. He often drew still-life paintings in the foreground and very discretely in the background would place a religious element. These were not meant for churches; however, they were meant to be placed into the homes of believers. The Protestant faith emphasized salvation through the book, so it was not necessary for artists to be creating great murals and frescoes in churches anymore; people could worship in the comfort of their own home. The reason for the discrete religious elements was at the time people were not given as much religious freedom and so they had to be secretive about which religious elements were being displayed in their homes.photo: courtesy of google images
Rembrandt is a very famous Protestant artist, comparing his works to those of Catholic artist one can see the great differences between Catholic and Protestant art. His pieces are very modest, use very little color, and our very solemn. In the Kunsthistorisches, most of his works that are displayed are portraits and not religious images. Rembrandt painted many portraits for in the Protestant world there was no need for pompous, grandiose paintings of Christ to glorify their religion. They relied on their faith and direct relationship to God to gain salvation, unlike the Catholic faith that uses many other means in order to get in the good graces of God to reach salvation.
Catholic Artphoto: courtesy of google images
Raphael is a Catholic artist and the work of Catholic painters is generally centered around the Holy Family. They always paint images of Mary and Jesus and do not really veer far off that idea. The lighting in this painting is done purposefully to show the perfection and holiness of the Family. The use of blue also shows the Catholics dedication to their faith. Blue is the most expensive to paint with, even more expensive that gold and silver. Blue is expensive because it is hard to come by and has to be imported from Afgahnistan. The artists willingness to use blue shows their devotion to their art. Usually artists are commissioned to paint certain paintings for churches, these churches are willing to shell out the big money in order to include blue in the paintings that are to adorn their churches. This shows the Catholics willingness and need to use other means besides the script to gain salvation.photo: courtesy of google images
Rubens is the quintessential Catholic artist. He always paints dramatic images to glorify Catholicism. This specific painting shows St. Ignacius performing a miracle on the obviously demonized woman. Exorcisms of this sort are very common in Catholicism. The exorcisms were done to remove demons from people and were done in public to prove the power of God through priests and saints. This painting is also characteristic of Catholic Baroque art. It is over the top glamorous and grandiose in order to display the power and importance of the Catholic church. Using powerful images such as this is very effective in scaring and brain-washing people into believing that they are not worthy and need the help of Catholicsm, priests, saints, and exorcisms to help them reach salvation.