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Art in the Protestant Reformation and

Counter-Reformation
The Protestant Reformation during the 16th century in
Europe almost entirely rejected the existing tradition of
Catholic art, and very often destroyed as much of it as
it could reach. A new artistic tradition developed,
producing far smaller quantities of art that followed
Protestant agendas and diverged drastically from the
southern European tradition and the humanist art
produced during the High Renaissance. The Lutheran
churches, as they developed, accepted a limited role
for larger works of art in churches,[1][2] and also
encouraged prints and book illustrations. Calvinists
remained steadfastly opposed to art in churches, and
suspicious of small printed images of religious
subjects, though generally fully accepting secular
images in their homes. Hans Holbein the Younger's Noli me tangere a
relatively rare Protestant oil painting of Christ from
In turn, the Catholic Counter-Reformation both reacted the Reformation period. It is small, and generally
against and responded to Protestant criticisms of art in naturalistic in style, avoiding iconic elements like
Roman Catholicism to produce a more stringent style the halo, which is barely discernible.
of Catholic art. Protestant religious art both embraced
Protestant values and assisted in the proliferation of
Protestantism, but the amount of religious art produced in Protestant countries was hugely reduced. Artists
in Protestant countries diversified into secular forms of art like history painting, landscape painting, portrait
painting and still life.

Art and the Reformation

The Protestant Reformation was a religious movement that occurred in Western Europe during the 16th
century that resulted in a divide in Christianity between Roman Catholics and Protestants. This movement
"created a North-South split in Europe, where generally Northern countries became Protestant, while
Southern countries remained Catholic."[3]

The Reformation produced two main branches of Protestantism; one was the Evangelical Lutheran
churches, which followed the teachings of Martin Luther, and the other the Reformed Churches, which
followed the ideas of John Calvin and Huldrych Zwingli. Out of these branches grew three main sects, the
Lutheran tradition, as well as the Continental Reformed and Anglican traditions, the latter two following the
Reformed (Calvinist) faith.[4] Lutherans and Reformed Christians had different views regarding religious
imagery.[5][2]
Martin Luther in Germany allowed and encouraged
the display of a restricted range of religious imagery in
churches, seeing the Evangelical Lutheran Church as a
continuation of the "ancient, apostolic church".[2] The
use of images was one of the issues where Luther
strongly opposed the more radical Andreas Karlstadt.
For a few years Lutheran altarpieces like the Last
Supper by the younger Cranach were produced in
Germany, especially by Luther's friend Lucas
Cranach, to replace Catholic ones, often containing
portraits of leading reformers as the apostles or other
protagonists, but retaining the traditional depiction of
Jesus. As such, "Lutheran worship became a complex
ritual choreography set in a richly furnished church
interior."[1] Lutherans continued the use of the crucifix
Cranach the Elder's Altarpiece at Wittenberg. An
as it highlighted their high view of the Theology of the
early Lutheran work depicting leading Reformers as
Cross.[2][6] Stories grew up of "indestructible" images
Apostles at the Last Supper.
of Luther, that had survived fires, by divine
intervention.[7] Thus, for Lutherans, "the Reformation
renewed rather than removed the religious image."[8]

On the other hand, there was a wave of iconoclasm, or

the destruction of religious imagery. This began very
early in the Reformation, when students in Erfurt
destroyed a wooden altar in the Franciscan friary in
December 1521.[9] Later, Reformed Christianity
showed consistent hostility to religious images, as
idolatry, especially sculpture and large paintings. Book
illustrations and prints were more acceptable, because
they were smaller and more private. Reformed leaders,
especially Huldrych Zwingli and John Calvin, actively
eliminated imagery from churches within the control of
their followers, and regarded the great majority of
religious images as idolatrous.[10] Early Calvinists
were even suspicious of portraits of clergy;
Christopher Hales (soon to be one of the Marian
exiles) tried to have portraits of six divines sent to him
from Zurich, and felt it necessary to explain his
motives in a letter of 1550: "this is not done ....with a
view to making idols of you; they are desired for the
reasons which I have mentioned, and not for the sake Altar piece in St. Martin's Cathedral, Utrecht,
of honour or veneration".[11] attacked by Calvinists in the Beeldenstorm in
1566. This retable became visible again after
The destruction was often extremely divisive and restoration in 1919 removed the false wall placed
traumatic within communities, an unmistakable in front of it.
physical manifestation, often imposed from above, that
could not be ignored. It was just for this reason that
reformers favoured a single dramatic coup, and many premature acts in this line sharply increased
subsequent hostility between Catholics and Calvinists in communities – for it was generally at the level of
the city, town or village that such actions occurred, except in England and Scotland.
But reformers often felt impelled by strong personal convictions, as shown by the case of Frau Göldli, on
which Zwingli was asked to advise. She was a Swiss lady who had once made a promise to Saint
Apollinaris that if she recovered from an illness she would donate an image of the saint to a local convent,
which she did. Later she turned Protestant, and feeling she must reverse what she now saw as a wrong
action, she went to the convent church, removed the statue and burnt it. Prosecuted for blasphemy, she paid
a small fine without complaint, but flatly refused to pay the additional sum the court ordered be paid to the
convent to replace the statue, putting her at risk of serious penalties. Zwingli's letter advised trying to pay
the nuns a larger sum on condition they did not replace the statue, but the eventual outcome is
unknown.[12] By the end of his life, after iconoclastic shows of force became a feature of the early phases
of the French Wars of Religion, even Calvin became alarmed and criticised them, realizing that they had
become counter-productive.[13]

Subjects prominent in Catholic art other than Jesus and

events in the Bible, such as Mary and saints were
given much less emphasis or disapproved of in
Protestant theology. As a result, in much of northern
Europe, the Church virtually ceased to commission
figurative art, placing the dictation of content entirely
in the hands of the artists and lay consumers.
Calvinism even objected to non-religious funerary art,
such as the heraldry and effigies beloved of the
Renaissance rich.[14] Where there was religious art,
iconic images of Christ and scenes from the Passion
became less frequent, as did portrayals of the saints
and clergy. Narrative scenes from the Bible, especially Daniel Hisgen's paintings are mostly cycles on the
as book illustrations and prints, and, later, moralistic parapets of Lutheran church galleries. Here the
depictions of modern life were preferred. Both Creation (left) to the Annunciation can be seen.
Cranachs painted allegorical scenes setting out
Lutheran doctrines, in particular a series on Law and
Gospel. Daniel Hisgen, a German Rococo painter of the 18th century in Upper Hesse, specialized in cycles
of biblical paintings decorating the front of the gallery parapet in Lutheran churches with an upper gallery, a
less prominent position that satisfied Lutheran scruples. Wooden organ cases were also often painted with
similar scenes to those in Catholic churches.

Lutherans strongly defended their existing sacred art from a new wave of Calvinist-on-Lutheran
iconoclasm in the second half of the century, as Calvinist rulers or city authorities attempted to impose their
will on Lutheran populations in the "Second Reformation" of about 1560–1619.[2][15] Against the
Reformed, Lutherans exclaimed: "You black Calvinist, you give permission to smash our pictures and hack
our crosses; we are going to smash you and your Calvinist priests in return".[2] The Beeldenstorm, a large
and very disorderly wave of Calvinist mob destruction of Catholic images and church fittings that spread
through the Low Countries in the summer of 1566 was the largest outbreak of this sort, with drastic
political repercussions.[16] This campaign of Calvinist iconoclasm "provoked reactive riots by Lutheran
mobs" in Germany and "antagonized the neighbouring Eastern Orthodox" in the Baltic region.[17] Similar
patterns to the German actions, but with the addition of encouragement and sometimes finance from the
national government, were seen in Anglican England in the English Civil War and English Commonwealth
in the next century, when more damage was done to art in medieval parish churches than during the
English Reformation.

A major theological difference between Protestantism and Catholicism is the question of transubstantiation,
or the literal transformation of the Communion wafer and wine into the body and blood of Christ, though
both Lutheran and Reformed Christians affirmed the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, the former as
a sacramental union and the latter as a pneumatic presence.[18] Protestant churches that were not
participating in the iconoclasm often selected as altarpieces scenes depicting the Last Supper. This helped
the worshippers to recall their theology behind the Eucharist, as opposed to Catholic churches, which often
chose crucifixion scenes for their altarpieces to remind the worshippers that the sacrifice of Christ and the
sacrifice of the Mass were one and the same, via the literal transformation of the Eucharist.

The Protestant Reformation also capitalized on the popularity of printmaking in northern Europe.
Printmaking allowed images to be mass-produced and widely available to the public at low cost. This
allowed for the widespread availability of visually persuasive imagery. The Protestant church was therefore
able, as the Catholic Church had been doing since the early 15th century, to bring their theology to the
people, and religious education was brought from the church into the homes of the common people,
thereby forming a direct link between the worshippers and the divine.

There was also a violent propaganda war fought partly with popular prints by both sides; these were often
highly scurrilous caricatures of the other side and their doctrines. On the Protestant side, portraits of the
leading reformers were popular, and their likenesses sometimes represented the Apostles and other figures
in Biblical scenes such as the Last Supper.

Genre and landscape

After the early years of the reformation, artists in Protestant areas painted far fewer religious subjects for
public display, although there was a conscious effort to develop a Protestant iconography of Bible
illustration in book illustrations and prints. In the early Reformation artists, especially Cranach the Elder and
Younger and Holbein, made paintings for churches showing the leaders of the reformation in ways very
similar to Catholic saints. Later Protestant taste turned from the display in churches of religious scenes,
although some continued to be displayed in homes. There was also a reaction against large images from
classical mythology, the other manifestation of high style at the time. This brought about a style that was
more directly related to accurately portraying the present times. The traditions of landscapes and genre
paintings that would fully flower in the 17th century began during this period.

Peter Bruegel (1525–1569) of Flanders is the great genre painter of his time, who worked for both Catholic
and Protestant patrons. In most of his paintings, even when depicting religious scenes, most space is given
to landscape or peasant life in 16th century Flanders. Bruegel's Peasant Wedding, portrays a Flemish-
peasant wedding dinner in a barn, which makes no reference to any religious, historical or classical events,
and merely gives insight into the everyday life of the Flemish peasant. Another great painter of his age,
Lucas van Leyden (1489–1533), is known mostly for his engravings, such as The Milkmaid, which depicts
peasants with milk cows. This engraving, from 1510, well before the Reformation, contains no reference to
religion or classicism, although much of his other work features both.

Bruegel was also an accomplished landscape painter.

Frequently Bruegel painted agricultural landscapes, such as
Summer from his famous set of the seasons, where he shows
peasants harvesting wheat in the country, with a few workers
taking a lunch break under a nearby tree. This type of
landscape painting, apparently void of religious or classical
connotations, gave birth to a long line of northern European
landscape artists, such as Jacob van Ruisdael.

With the great development of the engraving and printmaking

market in Antwerp in the 16th century, the public was Peter Bruegel's Peasant Wedding Feast.
provided with accessible and affordable images. Many artists
provided drawings to book and print publishers, including
Bruegel. In 1555 Bruegel began working for The Four Winds, a publishing house owned by Hieronymus
Cock. The Four Winds provided the public with almost a thousand etchings and engravings over two
decades. Between 1555 and 1563 Bruegel supplied Cock with almost 40 drawings, which were engraved
for the Flemish public.

The courtly style of Northern Mannerism in the second half of the century has been seen as partly
motivated by the desire of rulers in both the Holy Roman Empire and France to find a style of art that could
appeal to members of the courtly elite on both sides of the religious divide.[19] Thus religious controversy
had the rather ironic effect of encouraging classical mythology in art, since though they might disapprove,
even the most stern Calvinists could not credibly claim that 16th century mythological art really represented
idolatry.

Council of Trent
During the Reformation a great divergence arose between the
Catholic Church and the Protestant Reformers of the north
regarding the content and style of art work. The Catholic Church
viewed Protestantism and Reformed iconoclasm as a threat to the
church and in response came together at the Council of Trent to
institute some of their own reforms. The church felt that much
religious art in Catholic countries (especially Italy) had lost its focus
on religious subject-matter, and became too interested in material
things and decorative qualities. The council came together
periodically between 1545 and 1563. The reforms that resulted
from this council are what set the basis for what is known as the
Counter-Reformation.

Italian painting after the 1520s, with the notable exception of the art The Last Judgment fresco in the
of Venice, developed into Mannerism, a highly sophisticated style, Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo
striving for effect, that concerned many churchman as lacking (1534-41) came under persistent
appeal for the mass of the population. Church pressure to restrain attack in the Counter-Reformation
religious imagery affected art from the 1530s and resulted in the for, among other things, nudity (later
decrees of the final session of the Council of Trent in 1563 painted over for several centuries),
including short and rather inexplicit passages concerning religious not showing Christ seated or
images, which were to have great impact on the development of bearded, and including the pagan
figure of Charon.
Catholic art. Previous Catholic Church councils had rarely felt the
need to pronounce on these matters, unlike Orthodox ones which
have often ruled on specific types of images.

Statements are often made along the lines of "The decrees of the Council of Trent stipulated that art was to
be direct and compelling in its narrative presentation, that it was to provide an accurate presentation of the
biblical narrative or saint’s life, rather than adding incidental and imaginary moments, and that it was to
encourage piety",[20] but in fact the actual decrees of the council were far less explicit than this, though all
of these points were probably in line with their intentions. The very short passage dealing with art came
only in the final session in 1563, as a last minute and little-discussed addition, based on a French draft. The
decree confirmed the traditional doctrine that images only represented the person depicted, and that
veneration to them was paid to the person themself, not the image, and further instructed that:

...every superstition shall be removed ... all lasciviousness be avoided; in such wise that figures
shall not be painted or adorned with a beauty exciting to lust... there be nothing seen that is
disorderly, or that is unbecomingly or confusedly arranged, nothing that is profane, nothing
indecorous, seeing that holiness becometh the house of God. And that these things may be the
 more faithfully observed, the holy Synod ordains, that no one be allowed to place, or cause to
be placed, any unusual image, in any place, or church, howsoever exempted, except that
image have been approved of by the bishop ...[21]

The number of decorative treatments of religious subjects declined sharply, as did "unbecomingly or
confusedly arranged" Mannerist pieces, as a number of books, notably by the Flemish theologian Molanus,
Saint Charles Borromeo and Cardinal Gabriele Paleotti, and instructions by local bishops, amplified the
decrees, often going into minute detail on what was acceptable. Many traditional iconographies considered
without adequate scriptural foundation were in effect prohibited, as was any inclusion of classical pagan
elements in religious art, and almost all nudity, including that of the infant Jesus.[22] According to the great
medievalist Émile Mâle, this was "the death of medieval art".[23]

Art and the Counter-Reformation

While Calvinists largely removed public art from religion and
Reformed societies moved towards more "secular" forms of art which
might be said to glorify God through the portrayal of the "natural
beauty of His creation and by depicting people who were created in
His image",[24] Counter-Reformation Catholic church continued to
encourage religious art, but insisted it was strictly religious in content,
glorifying God and Catholic traditions, including the sacraments and
the saints.[25] Likewise, "Lutheran places of worship contain images
and sculptures not only of Christ but also of biblical and occasionally
of other saints as well as prominent decorated pulpits due to the
importance of preaching, stained glass, ornate furniture, magnificent
examples of traditional and modern architecture, carved or otherwise
embellished altar pieces, and liberal use of candles on the altar and
elsewhere."[26] The main difference between Lutheran and Roman
Catholic places of worship was the presence of the tabernacle in the
latter.[26]

Sydney Joseph Freedberg, who invented the term Counter-Maniera,

Scipione Pulzone's Lamentation,
cautions against connecting this more austere style in religious
a typical Counter-Reformation
painting, which spread from Rome from about 1550, too directly with
work.
the decrees of Trent, as it pre-dates these by several years. He
describes the decrees as "a codifying and official sanction of a temper
that had come to be conspicuous in Roman culture".[27]

Scipione Pulzone's (1550–1598) painting of the Lamentation which was commissioned for the Church of
the Gesù in 1593 is a Counter-Maniera work that gives a clear demonstration of what the holy council was
striving for in the new style of religious art. With the focus of the painting giving direct attention to the
crucifixion of Christ, it complies with the religious content of the council and shows the story of the passion
while keeping Christ in the image of the ideal human.

Ten years after the Council of Trent's decree Paolo Veronese was summoned by the Inquisition to explain
why his Last Supper, a huge canvas for the refectory of a monastery, contained, in the words of the
Inquisition: "buffoons, drunken Germans, dwarfs and other such scurrilities" as well as extravagant
costumes and settings, in what is indeed a fantasy version of a Venetian patrician feast.[28] Veronese was
told that he must change his indecorous painting within a three-month period – in fact he just changed the
title to The Feast in the House of Levi, still an episode from the Gospels, but a less doctrinally central one,
and no more was said.[29] No doubt any Protestant
authorities would have been equally disapproving.
The pre-existing decline in "donor portraits" (those
who had paid for an altarpiece or other painting
being placed within the painting) was also
accelerated; these become rare after the Council.

Further waves of "Counter-Reformation art"

occurred when areas formerly Protestant were
again brought under Catholic rule. The churches
Paolo Veronese's Last Supper (The Feast in the
were normally empty of images, and such periods
House of Levi)
could represent a boom time for artists. The best
known example is the new Spanish Netherlands
(essentially modern Belgium), which had been the
centre of Protestantism in the Netherlands but became (initially)
exclusively Catholic after the Spanish drove the Protestants to
the north, where they established the United Provinces. Rubens
was one of a number of Flemish Baroque painters who received
many commissions, and produced several of his best known
works re-filling the empty churches.[30] Several cities in France
in the French wars of religion and in Germany, Bohemia and
elsewhere in the Thirty Years War saw similar bursts of
restocking.

The rather extreme pronouncement by a synod in Antwerp in

1610 that in future the central panels of altarpieces should only
show New Testament scenes was certainly ignored in the cases
of many paintings by Rubens and other Flemish artists (and in
particular the Jesuits continued to commission altarpieces
centred on their saints), but nonetheless New Testament subjects Repentance of Peter by El Greco, 1580–
probably did increase.[31] Altarpieces became larger and more 1586.
easy to make out from a distance, and the large painted or gilded
carved wooden altarpieces that were the pride of many northern
late medieval cities were often replaced with paintings.[32]

Some subjects were given increased prominence to reflect Counter-Reformation emphases. The
Repentance of Peter, showing the end of the episode of the Denial of Peter, was not often seen before the
Counter-Reformation, when it became popular as an assertion of the sacrament of Confession against
Protestant attacks. This followed an influential book by the Jesuit Cardinal Robert Bellarmine (1542–1621).
The image typically shows Peter in tears, as a half-length portrait with no other figures, often with hands
clasped as at right, and sometimes "the cock" in the background; it was often coupled with a repentant
Mary Magdalen, another exemplar from Bellarmine's book.[33]

As the Counter-Reformation grew stronger and the Catholic Church felt less threat from the Protestant
Reformation, Rome once again began to assert its universality to other nations around the world. The
religious order of the Jesuits or the Society of Jesus, sent missionaries to the Americas, parts of Africa, India
and eastern Asia and used the arts as an effective means of articulating their message of the Catholic
Church's dominance over the Christian faith. The Jesuits' impact was so profound during their missions of
the time that today very similar styles of art from the Counter-Reformation period in Catholic Churches are
found all over the world.
Despite the differences in approaches to religious art, stylistic developments passed about as quickly across
religious divisions as within the two "blocs". Artistically Rome remained in closer touch with the
Netherlands than with Spain.

Notes
1. Spicer, Andrew (5 December 2016). Lutheran Churches in Early Modern Europe. Taylor &
Francis. p. 237. ISBN 9781351921169. "As it developed in north-eastern Germany, Lutheran
worship became a complex ritual choreography set in a richly furnished church interior. This
much is evident from the background of an epitaph painted in 1615 by Martin Schulz,
destined for the Nikolaikirche in Berlin (see Figure 5.5.)."
2. Lamport, Mark A. (31 August 2017). Encyclopedia of Martin Luther and the Reformation.
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 138. ISBN 9781442271593. "Lutherans continued to
worship in pre-Reformation churches, generally with few alterations to the interior. It has
even been suggested that in Germany to this day one finds more ancient Marian altarpieces
in Lutheran than in Catholic churches. Thus in Germany and in Scandinavia many pieces of
medieval art and architecture survived. Joseph Leo Koerner has noted that Lutherans,
seeing themselves in the tradition of the ancient, apostolic church, sought to defend as well
as reform the use of images. "An empty, white-washed church proclaimed a wholly
spiritualized cult, at odds with Luther's doctrine of Christ's real presence in the sacraments"
(Koerner 2004, 58). In fact, in the 16th century some of the strongest opposition to
destruction of images came not from Catholics but from Lutherans against Calvinists: "You
black Calvinist, you give permission to smash our pictures and hack our crosses; we are
going to smash you and your Calvinist priests in return" (Koerner 2004, 58). Works of art
continued to be displayed in Lutheran churches, often including an imposing large crucifix in
the sanctuary, a clear reference to Luther's theologia crucis. ... In contrast, Reformed
(Calvinist) churches are strikingly different. Usually unadorned and somewhat lacking in
aesthetic appeal, pictures, sculptures, and ornate altar-pieces are largely absent; there are
few or no candles; and crucifixes or crosses are also mostly absent."
3. The Reformation and Counter-Reformation. Historicist and Causes of the Reformation. New
Advent.
4. Picken, Stuart D.B. (16 December 2011). Historical Dictionary of Calvinism. Scarecrow
Press. p. 1. ISBN 9780810872240. "While Germany and the Scandinavian countries
adopted the Lutheran model of church and state, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands,
Hungary, what is now the Czech Republic, and Scotland created Reformed Churches
based, in varying ways, on the model Calvin set up in Geneva. Although England pursued
the Reformation ideal in its own way, leading to the formation of the Anglican Communion,
the theology of the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England were heavily influenced by
Calvinism."
5. Nuechterlein, Jeanne Elizabeth (2000). Holbein and the Reformation of Art. University of
California, Berkeley.
6. Marquardt, Janet T.; Jordan, Alyce A. (14 January 2009). Medieval Art and Architecture after
the Middle Ages. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 71. ISBN 9781443803984. "In fact,
Lutherans often justified their continued use of medieval crucifixes with the same arguments
employed since the Middle Ages, as is evident from the example of the altar of the Holy
Cross in the Cistercian church of Doberan."
7. Michalski, 89
8. Dixon, C. Scott (9 March 2012). Contesting the Reformation. John Wiley & Sons. p. 146.
ISBN 9781118272305. "According to Koerner, who dwells on Lutheran art, the Reformation
renewed rather than removed the religious image."
9. Noble, 19, note 12
10. Institutes, 1:11, section 7 on crosses (http://www.vor.org/rbdisk/html/institutes/index.html)
11. Campbell, Lorne, Renaissance Portraits, European Portrait-Painting in the 14th, 15th and
16th Centuries, p. 193, 1990, Yale, ISBN 0300046758; Hales was the brother of John Hales
(died 1572)
12. Michalski, 87-88
13. Michalski, 73-74
14. Michalski, 72-73
15. Michalski, 84. Google books (https://books.google.com/books?id=lQjGmEUtbPMC&pg=PA8
4)
16. Kleiner, Fred S. (1 January 2010). Gardner's Art through the Ages: A Concise History of
Western Art. Cengage Learning. p. 254. ISBN 9781424069224. "In an episode known as the
Great Iconoclasm, bands of Calvinists visited Catholic churches in the Netherlands in 1566,
shattering stained-glass windows, smashing statues, and destroying paintings and other
artworks they perceived as idolatrous."
17. Marshall, Peter (22 October 2009). The Reformation. Oxford University Press. p. 114.
ISBN 9780191578885. "Iconoclastic incidents during the Calvinist 'Second Reformation' in
Germany provoked reactive riots by Lutheran mobs, while Protestant image-breaking in the
Baltic region deeply antagonized the neighbouring Eastern Orthodox, a group with whom
reformers might have hoped to make common cause."
18. Mattox, Mickey L.; Roeber, A. G. (27 February 2012). Changing Churches: An Orthodox,
Catholic, and Lutheran Theological Conversation. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 54.
ISBN 9780802866943. "In this "sacramental union," Lutherans taught, the body and blood of
Christ are so truly united to the bread and wine of the Holy Communion that the two may be
identified. They are at the same time body and blood, bread and wine. This divine food is
given, more-over, not just for the strengthening of faith, nor only as a sign of our unity in faith,
nor merely as an assurance of the forgiveness of sin. Even more, in this sacrament the
Lutheran Christian receives the very body and blood of Christ precisely for the strengthening
of the union of faith. The "real presence" of Christ in the Holy Sacrament is the means by
which the union of faith, effected by God's Word and the sacrament of baptism, is
strengthened and maintained. Intimate union with Christ, in other words, leads directly to the
most intimate communion in his holy body and blood."
19. Trevor-Roper, 98-101 on Rudolf, and Strong, Pt. 2, Chapter 3 on France, especially pp. 98-
101, 112-113.
20. Art in Renaissance Italy. Paoletti, John T., and Gary M. Radke. Pg. 514.
21. Text of the 25th decree of the Council of Trent (http://history.hanover.edu/texts/trent/ct25.html)
22. Blunt Anthony, Artistic Theory in Italy, 1450-1660, chapter VIII, especially pp. 107-128, 1940
(refs to 1985 edn), OUP, ISBN 0-19-881050-4
23. The death of Medieval Art (https://web.archive.org/web/20080403052437/http://danielmitsui.t
ripod.com/aaaaa/deathart.html) Extract from book by Émile Mâle
24. Art of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation. Nosotro, Rit.
25. The Art of the Counter Reformation. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
26. Lamport, Mark A. (31 August 2017). Encyclopedia of Martin Luther and the Reformation.
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 138. ISBN 9781442271593.
27. (Sydney) Freedberg, 427–428, 427 quoted
28. "Transcript of Veronese's testimony" (https://web.archive.org/web/20090929022528/http://w
ww.efn.org/~acd/Veronese.html). Archived from the original (http://www.efn.org/~acd/Verones
e.html) on 2009-09-29. Retrieved 2007-03-26.
29. David Rostand, Painting in Sixteenth-Century Venice: Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto, 2nd ed
1997, Cambridge UP ISBN 0-521-56568-5
30. (David) Freedberg, throughout
31. (David) Freedberg, 139-140
32. (David) Freedberg, 141
33. Hall, pp. 10 and 315

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Freedberg, Sydney J. Painting in Italy, 1500–1600, 3rd edn. 1993, Yale, ISBN 0300055870
James Hall, A History of Ideas and Images in Italian Art, 1983, John Murray, London, ISBN 0-
7195-3971-4
Michalski, Sergiusz. Reformation and the Visual Arts: The Protestant Image Question in
Western and Eastern Europe, Routledge, 1993, ISBN 0-203-41425-X, 9780203414255
Google Books (https://books.google.com/books?id=lQjGmEUtbPMC&dq=Iconoclasm+1566
&pg=PA84)
Noble, Bonnie (2009). Lucas Cranach the Elder: Art and Devotion of the German
Reformation (https://books.google.com/books?id=zza73rddamcC&pg=PR7). University
Press of America. ISBN 978-0-7618-4337-5.
Roy Strong; Art and Power; Renaissance Festivals 1450-1650, 1984, The Boydell
Press;ISBN 0-85115-200-7
Trevor-Roper, Hugh; Princes and Artists, Patronage and Ideology at Four Habsburg Courts
1517-1633, Thames & Hudson, London, 1976, ISBN 0-500-23232-6

Further reading
Avalli-Bjorkman, Gorel. "A Bolognese Portrait of a Butcher." The Burlington Magazine 141
(1999).
Caldwell, Dorigen. "Reviewing Counter-Reformation Art." 5 Feb. 2007 [1] (https://archive.tod
ay/20130415225805/http://oaj.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/29/1/139).
Christensen, Carl C. "Art and the Reformation in Germany." The Sixteenth Century Journal
Athens: Ohio UP, 12 (1979): 100.
Coulton, G G. "Art and the Reformation Reviews." Art Bulletin 11 (1928).
Honig, Elizabeth. Painting and the Market in Early Modern Antwerp. New Haven: Yale UP,
1998.
Koerner, Joseph L. The Reformation of the Image. London: The University of Chicago P,
2004.
Knipping, John Baptist, Iconography of the Counter Reformation in the Netherlands: Heaven
on Earth 2 vols, 1974
Mayor, A. Hyatt, "The Art of the Counter Reformation." The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Bulletin 4 (1945).
Silver, Larry. Peasant Scenes and Landscapes: the Rise of Pictorial Genres in the Antwerp
Art Market. Philadelphia: University Pennsylvania P, 2006.
 Wisse, Jacob. "The Reformation." In Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, 2000- [2] (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/refo/hd_refo.htm) (October
2002).

External links
Review (http://www.lrb.co.uk/v26/n16/duff01_.html) of The Reformation of the Image by
Joseph Leo Koerner, by Eamon Duffy, London Review of Books

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