Timeline

Historical Dictionary

First posted on June 24th 2005

Narratives : Arts in the 16th, 17th Century; Scientific Revolution http://www.zum.de/whkmla/sat/texts/narrscirev.html

The Arts : Baroque, Rococo : In the post-Tridentine Catholic Church, many blamed Humanist philosophy and unchecked Renaissance art for the political upheavals of the Reformation period. In Catholic countries, artists were granted freedom as long as they were unpolitical; painters were permitted to depict nudity, and usually did so in a mythologic context. Renaissance art continued into the late 16th century, succeeded by Baroque. In paintings, sculpture and architecture, Baroque is a predominantly Catholic art style. The Catholic church was the main financer of Baroque artists; famous Baroque buildings include Stift Church Melk (a monastery church) in Austria, the Theatiner Church in Munich (Bavaria) etc. Baroque painters include Italians Michelangelo Merisi de Caravaggio and Gianlorenzo Bernini. In protestant countries, the princple of simplicity was followed - architecture was plain and functional; the interior of churches consisted of white walls, simple transparent windows, functional benches, completely lacking the ornaments so typical for Catholic baroque architecture. Dutch paintings (among the protestant countries, the Dutch Republic had the strongest painting tradition) such as those of Rembrandt Harmenszn van Rijn, are simple portraits, landscape paintings, still lives, lacking the cupids, bands and other ornaments which adorned so many Catholic Baroque paintings; still Rembrandt, by many, is regarded a Baroque painter. The most famous Baroque composer is Johann Sebastian Bach, a Lutheran who lived and worked in Saxony. His compositions were written to be played on the organ, as church music. Meanwhile, in Italy, the performing arts were developed (Comedia dell'Arte, Opera, Ballet). Italian would dominate as the language of operas until the end of the 18th century. Operas, the Comedia dell'Arte, Ballet became popular at European courts outside of Italy. Both Comedia dell'Arte and Opera often questioned the moral teachings of the church and the hypocrisy of society. Baroque was succeeded by Rococo, an art style focussing less on the church and more on the court. Rococo architecture, sculpture and painting again flourished in Catholic countries, but was imitated at some Protestant courts. The Scientific Revolution : In the course of the Catholic Counterreformation, the Jesuits, in many states, were empowered with a monopoly over higher education (Jesuit colleges; control of censorship; the Inquisition). During the Renaissance period, Italian universities were the center of European science. In Catholic Europe, from c.1540 onward, scientists lived in an environment controlled by Jesuits. Copernicus published his "De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium", which advocated a heliocentric system against church belief that the un would revolve around the earth, in 1543 - the year of his death. Fellow astronomer Johannes Kepler, who taught in Graz (Styria, Counterreformation Catholic) always had his publications beforehand approved by the Jesuits. Galileo Galilei, as late as 1632-1633, of old age and almost blind, was forced by the Inquisition to recant his support of Copernicus' heliocentric theory, a recantation nobody in the community of contemporary astronomers took serious. French philosopher and mathematician Rene Descartes (Cartesius) chose to live and teach in the Dutch Republic. Descartes was a Catholic, but in the Dutch Republic he could teach and write free of fear of the Inquisition. During the 17th century, the center of European science shifted away from the Catholic countries (Spain was exceptionally backward within the Catholic world, because it banned the import of books) toward the protestant countries - Germany, the Dutch Republic, England, even Denmark and Sweden. After 1682 (establishment of Gallican Church within the Catholic Church), France moved to reduce the power of the Jesuits, which permitted increasing freedom for scientists. The protestant countries produced scientists such as William Harvey, Francis Bacon, Isaac Newton (England), Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, Christiaan Huygens (Netherlands), Vesalius, Otto von Guericke (Germany). In 1582, based on astronomic observations, Pope Gregory XIII. introduced the Gregorian Calendar; 15 days were cut, in order to bring the previously applied Julian Calendar in accordance with the astronomic calendar. While the Catholic countries immediately introduced the Gregorian Calendar, many protestant countries, notably England (1752), were slow to fiollow. Scientific reseach, during the time of the Scientific Revolution, was conducted by private individuals who invested effort and time. Persons such as Galilei, Newton, Descartes and Kepler were paid to teach, astronomers among them could earn additonal revenuer for composing horoscopes. Rene Descartes in 1637 published his 'Discours de la Methode' in which he defended the standpoint of Hellenistic Science, which rejected the legitimacy of experiments. Francis Bacon, in his 'Novum Organum' of 1620 instead argued that experiments were legitimate, a view which was shared by many scientists of his time. Much of progress was made by experiments, other by improved instruments, notably high-quality lenses which permitted astronomers to use telescopes, biologists to use microscopes. The scientists were not supported in their effort by the church nor by the state They were mainly discussed at universities. Scholarly societies were founded, on private initiative, to support scientific research. The ideological conflict between Catholicism and Protestantism had sparked a competition in research and teaching. Both sides founded new universities. College and university professors were expected to combine teaching and research. But they often found it difficult to obtain funding; in individual cases they found a sponsor; most notably their scientific findings did not make their way into school curricula until the educational reforms of the Enlightenment Era. However, traditional thinking continued to influence scientists - based on the theory of the world consisting of five elements - air, earth, fire, water, wood - alchemy continued to be practised. Only in the mid 18th century did Antoine Lavoisier establish the modern science of chemistry. Astronomers were expected to compose horoscopes (astrology), which were requested by influential persons of the time, for instance Habsburg general Wallenstein (-1631). The various sciences were not established as separate sciences yet, but were treated as branches of philosophy. Many scientists of the time believed the various sciences to be combined somehow, and a good number of them searched for universal harmony, for a formula which would explain both music, mathematics and nature.

EXTERNAL FILES

Scientific Revolution, from Western Civilization by Gerhard Rempel Scientific Revolution Home Page by Robert A. Hatch Scientific Revolution, from Sparknotes : European History Scientific Revolution, from Modern History Sourcebook Baroque, from Webmuseum Paris Rococo Art, from Art Cyclopedia Index Librorum Prohibitiorum (Index of Forbidden Books), from Modern History Sourcebook (excerpt/summary)

REFERENCE

Click here to go Home Click here to go to Information about KMLA, WHKMLA, the author and webmaster Click here to go to Statistics