Contrarreforma - History Lab

Embrace of St. Francis of Assisi to the Crucified One

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:32:12 +0000

Francisco Ribalta was one of the masters of the early Spanish Baroque. He was active in Valencia and was noted for his religious paintings of great mystical importance. This work is an altar painting from a disentailed Capuchin convent in Valencia. And how the exclaustrations led to the dispersion of works of art in public museums and private collections, shaped by the inheritance of the rich conventual legacy

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The Virgin and Child with the Infant Jesus and Saint John the Baptist Child, Zurbarán

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:32:12 +0000

Zurbarán was one of the great painters of the Spanish Golden Age. He specialised in religious themes and monastic cycles. In this work he shows Mary and Jesus with Saint John in a domestic setting. His mastery in the use of colour and the folds of the drapery is outstanding

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The gentleman with his hand on his chest

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:31:59 +0000

Portrait of El Greco, by an anonymous nobleman. One of the emblems of Golden Age Spain. The knight must have been a member of the high nobility of Toledo, whose clothing, arms and gesture symbolise the virtues of the nobleman. He appears to be swearing an oath. He combines the elegance of the warrior with the elegance of the Spanish knight, dressed in black and defending the Catholic faith

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The Battle of Lepanto

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:31:53 +0000

Painting of the Battle of Lepanto (1663-1665), commissioned for the Chapel of the Rosary in the Convent of Santo Domingo (Murcia), where it remains today. Painted by Juan de Toledo, an artist who specialised in naval scenes, and Mateo Gilarte, who was commissioned to paint the image of the Virgin and Child and the four medals of the protagonists of the battle: Philip II, John of Austria, Pius V and Ali Baya.

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Main facade of Murcia Cathedral

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:14 +0000

The façade of Murcia Cathedral, an exceptional work of universal Baroque, was built between 1736 and 1751 under the direction of the architect and sculptor Jaime Bort. It was conceived as a stone altarpiece with two sections and three streets in which to exalt the magnificence of the Virgin Mary and the antiquity and glories of the Diocese of Cartagena, through saints and symbols linked to the Kingdom of Murcia. The façade synthesises the guidelines that emanated from the Council of Trent to combat the Lutheran Reformation. Thus began an attitude whereby images became a means of “indoctrination” in the original sense of the word, i.e. a set of actions that served to popularise a religious doctrine. When Trent stipulated that one of the guidelines for the religious apostolate was the veneration of religious images, especially of the Virgin and the saints, as well as relics, the foundations of Baroque art were also laid, the aim of which was to attract the common man to the Catholic faith. The façade of Murcia Cathedral is a magnificent expression of this aim.

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