1. The Counter Reformist was an art movement that involved two religious factions including the Catholics and the Protestants. Religious art, therefore, developed during the 17 th century mainly in Italy and Spain. Many people in Spain converted to Protestantism thus jeopardizing its empire. On the other hand, Catholicism was the dominant religious practice in Italy with members of this religion utilizing their artistic strength to strengthen their Catholic agenda. Spain overutilized their resources trying to fight the Protestants although they remained deeply religious. As such, this shows a possibility of bitterness towards the church. Therefore, this explains why their art appeared less religious as compared to that of Italy. However, their devout nature during this time explains why the not all the art was secular. Italy, on the other hand, has a history of religious art. The explanation provided for this is that since the wealthy merchants lost a lot of money in funding the Renaissance, the church remained the viable sponsor for artists thus leading to religious art.
2. During the 17 th century, Flanders was mainly under the rule of Spain. As such, they practiced Catholicism. Flanders showed a mixture of both religious and secular works in their art. Many wealthy and middle-class individuals wanted portraits and paintings to show off their properties. More importantly, they remained religious which greatly influenced their craft in the way they portrayed Christ in their works. The Dutch from Holland gained emancipation from Catholic rule and adopted the Protestant faith. Therefore, their 17 th art focused more on common day to day activities that occurred in their Dutch life.
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3. Baroque was a period spanning between the 17 th century and the start of the 18 th century. The Baroque style had several characteristics including its emphasis on the sharp contrast between dark and light with an inclination towards the use of strange and dark subject matter. The motion is usually exaggerated and applies a technique known as the chiaroscuro which involves the interplay between the light and dark colors. It was used during the Counter-Reformation era mostly by members linked to the Catholic Church. Some of the famous artists of this era include Caravaggio, Rubens, and Rembrandt. On the other hand, Rococo was a style primarily utilized in the 18 th century hallmarked by curved asymmetrical forms with a touch of elaborate ornamentation. It was mainly used in France and later in other countries such as Austria and Germany.
4. Deposition from the cross by Caravaggio (Baroque) v Allegory of Music by Boucher (Rococo)
The "Deposition from the cross by Caravaggio is a piece of painting approximately ten by seven inches. The work was completed in 1604 having been started in 1600. The paint was done by Caravaggio and was later used as a decoration in a Rome-based chapel. It was an oil painting on a canvas. It epitomizes the Baroque style of painting especially by the use of dark and light colors and also the use of subjects that depict violence. The "Allegory of Music" by Boucher is a classical representation of the Rococo style. First, it is a small image that is approximately three by four inches. Similarly, it is oil on canvas that was completed in 1764. However, mystery surrounds the reasons and the location for the development of the paint. It primarily uses white color with the edges being the only dark regions. The woman is dressed in easy fabric depicting immense movement and eliciting emotion. I tend to like the Baroque painting more than the Rococo. The Baroque has a lot of symbolism and performs well in the area of color coordination. It also causes one to think a lot as opposed to the Rococo which only focuses on beauty with little meaning.
