A 'tröstlich pictura': Luther's Attitude in the Question of Images
1969; Iter Press; Volume: 17; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.33137/rr.v17i1.12780
ISSN2293-7374
Autores Tópico(s)Medieval European History and Architecture
ResumoArt historians often attribute to Protestantism the decHne of the visual arts after the first third of the 16th century in German speaking countries.It is pointed out that Gruenewald, clearly in sympathy with Protestan- tism, ceased to paint in his final years, supposedly fearful of Catholic persecution.Holbein, a reluctant follower of the new creed, is said to have emigrated to England in protest against Swiss iconoclasm.^Suchstatements are generalizing half-truths and might be countered by mentioning Hans Baldung whose career continued to blossom in Strasbourg or the elder Lucas Cranach who painted, in 1552, thirty-two pictures of which thirteen were of religious subject matter.^It is also worth remembering that the Catholic Rhineland, Bavaria, Austria and Silesia suffered a similar decline in artistic production.The stimulus provided by the Tridentinum for religious art led to an immediate efflorescence in Italy and Spain with the Southern Netherlands following slightly later, but its effects on Germany are not manifest before the 18th century.Thus, the claim that Protestantism was the greatest detriment to the thriving of the representational arts there must be viewed with caution, especially vAïQTï the relationship is simplistically regarded as one of cause-and-effect.Ŵ hile it is undeniable that the Reformation is a codeterminant in the decline of German art, the social, economic and poHtical conditions that are responsible for the general malaise of the century and the resulting Thirty Years' War contributed far more to the strangling of artistic productivity.For a clearer understanding of the role of the Reformation vis-à-vis the visual arts one has to look at the attitudes of its key promoters, specifically Luther.From the available evidence it can be confidently said that Protestants rarely objected in principle to the presence of art in religious lifethe flowering of graphic arts and church music, much promoted by both Zwingli and Luther, indicates that much.Also, the prohibitive and des-
Referência(s)