Western Art and Christianity During the Past

Western Art and Christianity

During the past millennium, Western art has been heavily influenced by Christianity. Art is an extension of the many complex thoughts and images that swim within an artist's mind. Because many Western artists have traditionally been raised in a Christian environment, it is difficult for their religious beliefs to be fully separated from their artwork, and oftentimes it is embraced in the works, or a patron has requested it be the specific subject matter. Although this heavy Christian influence would see a swift departure during the Renaissance, it would remain engrained in Western culture until the present day.

The Reformation heralded a swift separation between Christians in Europe, as Roman Catholics and Protestants divided roughly along a North to South split. Protestants seemed to dominate the North while the South remained dominated by Catholic countries. While much of the art in Protestant countries retained a secular subject matter and form, little of the works could escape the influence of the Reformation. Notably, Peter Brueghel the Elder's The Hunters in the Snow, created in 1565, exemplifies many of the emotions and stylistic choices of the era. Although his patron, Niclaes Jonghelinck, was a devout Protestant, the work seems to pine for simpler times prior to this religious upheaval. The work screams of Protestant influence, but depicts a somewhat depressing scene. Several hunters have returned from an unsuccessful hunting trip, in the snow, and there is merely a tiny, malnourished, dead fox to show as a reward. The painting's mood is enhanced with a grey toned sky, and this work has all the elements of turmoil present within the Reformation.

An even more religiously influenced work, most specifically due to the subject matter, Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper, depicts the Last Supper of Jesus Christ, on the evening he announces that one of his apostles will betray him. The work was created between 1495 and 1498 for da Vinci's patron, Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan, and exemplifies the devoutly Catholic methodology of the era. Although the work is considered one of the greatest paintings ever created, it is a firmly religious piece, with Jesus as its centerpiece. The painting displays the heartbreak that all Catholics feel over the concept of original sin, and has a deeply grim quality to it, regardless of its spiritual subject.

In contrast to these two traditional pieces, Claude Monet's Impression, Sunrise, was created during an era that began to show signs of a more secular movement. Like most of the secular works during the Impressionist movement, this painting is beautiful in its choice of colors and the flow of the brushstrokes. It was created in 1872, with help in part from Monet's longtime patron and department-store owner Ernest Hoschede. The painting is a strong departure from the religious works of the past. Whereas many of those works tended to depict specific religious scenes or events in a very deliberate and realistic manner, Monet's form of Impressionism is flowing and bright. The brushstrokes are sweeping and less calculated, although the finished product is quite accurate in depicting the feeling of a sunrise, rather than attempting to create a photographic copy.