solved The Role of Religion in Art Between the Medieval Period

The Role of Religion in Art Between the Medieval Period and Romantic PeriodAfter you have read your textbook and have viewed the videos, consider the following question: What was the role of religion in art between the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of the Romantic Movement? (Note: This is not the place to promote any religion or role of a “god” in your life. I am looking specifically for how religion shaped or hindered the creation of art during this time.) (2 college-level paragraphs of 10-12 sentences each) Prehistoric and Ancient Art. Some people question why we might start this class so far back, and I always tell them that it’s important to know what (if possible) inspired the art that we see today. Although there are a tremendous amount of similarities between Egypt, Greece, and Rome, perhaps one of the biggest similarities is the fact that they were all massive empires that stretched far and wide. These were all empires with great armies and navies that explored and conquered all they could. In doing this, they absorbed and influenced the world. When the Roman Empire fell, there was a vacuum created by those who wanted political control. Although there are numerous reasons that can be cited for the fall of the Roman Empire, many historians and critics agree that the two main causes were money and religion. After Constantine call the First Council of Nicea in 325, Christianity was normalized and the relationships between Christian sects solidified. Shortly thereafter, Roman Emperor Constantine called for the Roman Empire to be an official Christian state, unified under one god. At this time, many Romans still prayed and followed the Classical gods like Jupiter (Zeus), and many parts of the Roman Empire worshiped other gods altogether. Needless to say, this declaration from Constantine sent a huge ripple through the Roman Empire, and many areas revolted.One thing that I want to note here is that when I say “Christian,” I actually mean Catholicism. Modern day Christianity, as we know it, didn’t really start to take shape until after Henry VIII of England broke away from The Vatican (Rome) because the Pope would not grant him a divorce.So, after the Roman Empire falls in 476 AD, and even before that, there are massive shifts in art. The focus is now on Christ and salvation. Church dogma and lessons are the forefront of the art’s subject matter, and everything from painting to sculpture, to architecture is in the name of the Church. Please read the section on the Medieval Period in your book. You will notice that the Medieval Period is broken up into three distinct forms: Byzantine, Romanesque, and Gothic. Each one has its own characteristics, and I will ask you about these on your midterm and final.After the Medieval Period and a plague (thank you for killing about 3/4 of the population of Europe, Black Plague…), the Church realized that they were losing favor with many people – particularly the nobility of England, France, and Italy. The stranglehold that the Church had on art was finally lifted when the Italian Renaissance began in the early 1420s. The Church had a ton of money from tithes and offerings from its citizens, and now they started using it to fund great artists like Leonardo DaVinci, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo. If you’re into the Ninja Turtles, well, here you go! Many of these artists were trained in many subjects and had limitless funds. Of these artists, the ones that might stand out the most are DaVinci and Michelangelo. You can thank DaVinci for creating scissors, propeller blades (he wanted to fly and engineers used his designs later for the development of helicopter blades), and painting The Last Supper. Michelangelo was responsible for David, La Pieta, and for his paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. During the Italian Renaissance architecture also boomed and there was a return to science and mathematics for art.On the momentum of the Italian Renaissance came both the Neoclassicism and the Romantic Periods. These were both a way for Europe to pay vestige to the Greek Empire, and people like Homer and Aristotle were idealized. A few year later, Romanticism took off and you had writers and artists looking back to the Medieval Period for inspiration. This is the time of Mary Shelly writing Frankenstein and Edgar Allen Poe writing his collection of his tales (yes, I know he’s American, but he is everything about the Romantic Period).