The Role of the Church in the Renaissance Essay example -- Art History

The saviorian church building was absolutely instrumental in the wileistry of the Renaissance. It was the driving force behind every inspiration without the Church, thither would have been no art. The Church was the only institution powerful rich to be able to support the commissions of all of the artwork, and it was the only institution, in which wad had enough faith and devotion to spend so much of their cartridge clip and m iodiny creating pieces thatalthough beautifulwere not necessities. The role of religion in art actually began during the Byzantine era. During this time, all artwork was religious in nature, and nigh of it was done in a consistently similar style so that figures from the Bible could be easily recognized by everyone and so that raft had a consistent view of religious matters. Art during this time was mostly iconic, meant to inspire the fearfulness of God in the viewer. Along with various versions of the crucifix, one of the most popular images of the Byzantine style was The Pantokrator, an image of Jesus Christ as shown from above. An example of one of these pieces was done in the twelfth ampere-second in the abbey church of Monreale in the city of Palermo. Jesus is a monolithic figure that takes up much of the space across the apse of the Church. hotshot of his hands forms a mudra as the other holds the scripture. His fully frontal and manoeuver stance along with the glimmering gold background serves to strike awe and fear into the viewer. Clearly this piece was done with the intent to impress the prize and mightiness of religion first and attention to the detail and technique of the art second.This emphasis on religion continued deep into the Renaissance, as the Church was one of the few organizations that could fund such massive un... ...udgment in the afterlife.Giottos Arena Chapel, Duccios Maest, and Masaccios Trinity are only a few examples of the Churchs overarching influence on Renaissance art. Without th e Church, on that point would have been no art. It was the increasing popularity of the Church with new orders of monks in the 1200s that created a greater need for religious images, and with more production of art, the style began to change. righteousness was such an integral part of Renaissance culture that it makes sense that it would be the focus of its creativity. Works CitedAdams, Laurie Schneider. Italian Renaissance Art, Boulder, CO Westview Press, 2001.Shearmann, John. Only attribute Art and the Spectator in the Italian Renaisssance, Washington, D.C. Princeton University Press, 1992.Welch, Evelyn. Art and Society in Italy 1350-1500, Oxford Oxford University Press, 1997.