Baroque art in Spain, Italy, and Northern Europe embraced paintings, architecture as well as sculptures. In regions of Spain and Italy where the Catholic church had a strong influence, baroque art design and content was mostly religious, aimed at glorifying their deity as well as strengthen their political position. Areas such as Northern Europe where the Catholic hadn’t spread their influence, the Baroque art had far less religious content. The art was commissioned by monarch and it was systematically designed to have an appeal on the middle class and merchants as well as their growing aspirations.
Throughout Spain, Italy, and Northern Europe Baroque art was portrayed as large monumental wall paintings and huge frescoes that occupied ceilings of churches and palaces, this was before the reformation that occurred in the 16th century. After the divide that occurred between western and northern Europe, different styles were absorbed by the Protestant church which no longer commissioned the painting of large-scale biblical pieces as they were regarded as idolatry. As a result, the dark and dramatic baroque in northern Europe was replaced by art that depicted plainer and more personal Christian way.
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Even though baroque art was used as a method of teaching the people about the Bible and Christianity in Spain, Italy, and northern Europe, the Reformation created a divide between Catholics and Protestants. Northern Europe shifted from this and moved to art that spoke of moral and political lessons, whereby art was mostly focused on a particular moment and as a result allowed the viewer to create the story themselves. This is in contrast to Italian and Spanish baroque art whose inspiration was from a particular biblical scene whose objective was to tell a story.
These differences in method, subject and materials in Italian and Spanish Baroque art as compared to the ones in Northern Europe was as a result of the reformation. The reformation occurred within the baroque period and resulted in the divide that occurred in Western Europe, dividing Christianity between Protestants and Catholics. As a result, northern Europe embraced Protestantism while their southern counterparts remained Catholics bringing a divide to baroque art that was once similar.
