Propaganda Art in Different Art Movements

1. A)
Renaissance: Michelangelo’s ceiling for the Sistine Chapel is an example of propaganda art,
according to the art historian DePardo-Minsky, this ceiling was made with an intention to
spread a message that Christians can buy their way for heaven with the help of cash
payments. The visual description of heaven was intended to create a "persuasion with the
help of a grand visual.”
B) Baroque: Famous as the masterpiece from the era of Baroque, “The ecstasy of Theresa” is
a work of art that can be termed as a propaganda work of art. The facial expression of
Theresa was a part of the story from the Bible where she received salvation by the blessings
of the supreme lord. However, the same expressions can also be interpreted as a physical
orgasm as well. Many critics believe that it was an attempt of the priests of that time to
project the fact that Christianity is not against physical pleasures and an individual can enjoy
worldly life to the fullest.
C) Age of Enlightenment: Painter Francois Boucher painted a masterpiece of the Rococo art
under the name of the “Toilet of Venus.” Venus was a mythological figure during that period.
However, it is believed that this painting was actually an ode to the beauty of Madame de
Pompadour, she was the beloved of Louis XV and Louis XV was patronizing the art of
Francois Boucher. This painting was a propaganda painting where Francois depicted the
royal lifestyle of high society women of that era. Many critics gave it the name of “Salon
Art” as well, which was a demining title when someone is painting a mythological figure.
D) Modernism: Mexican artist Diego Rivera painted a 20 feet tall Mural in Rockefeller, New
York. In spite of all the oppositions, he refused to erase the image of Lenin from this mural. It
was the era of the beginning of the cold war and Lenin as a leader was unacceptable in the

USA. Authorities destroyed this mural after some time because of the political pressures.
Diego Rivera created the same mural in Mexico a few years later.
2.
A) Humanism during the period of the Renaissance carried forward three major key points
from the ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy. The first key point was associated with
individualism. Humanism promotes an individual to give paramount importance to his own
experiences. This trait of Ancient Greek philosophy was present in the Renaissance as well.
In order to practice the beliefs based on personal experience, a certain amount of democracy
is also required, this democratic setup of the society was the second key point. The third and
most important part was related to the concept of body worship. During the Ancient period,
athleticism and physical beauty were very important, this characteristic of the humanism was
the third key point.
B) The philosophies associated with the modernism allow an individual to explain religion,
social and cultural norms in accordance with his own wisdom and understanding of life. The
concept of the modernism revolves around the scientific and logical evaluation of the
phenomenon of the world and the cultures imbibed around them. For a better understanding
of the influence of the modernism over the cultural outlook of an individual, we can
understand the relationship between science and nature. As philosophy modernism allows an
individual to explore nature from a scientific viewpoint and says that it is not a miracle, it is
science. In a similar fashion, it allows an individual to define culture on the merit of the logic
and rational. Here it says that culture can be developed in accordance with the changing times
and human needs.
3.
A) The reformist movement or the protestant movement changed the priorities of the artists
and the art buyers of northern Europe completely. The reformists of Northern Europe were

determined to change the theological practices promoted by the Roman Catholic Church.
Prior to the Reformist expedition, the Roman Catholic Church took the support of the opulent
biblical iconography and its impact was evident on all the major art forms. The protestant
movement tried to remove this iconography and allowed the artists to represent symbols from
the day to day life in depicting the moral teachings. It created a novelty for art lovers and
acted as a breather for the artists and art lovers.
B) Prior to the reformist movement, the artifacts of Northern Europe were figurative in nature
and the subjects or the depictions were confined to religious and mythological figures. Most
of the artists were making huge artifacts for chapels and other places of the mass gathering.
The reformist movement changed this practice; it opened a new market for the artists where
local residents started to seek for personalized pieces of the arts. The emergence of this new
market also opened a sub-market for the personal sketches and landscape paintings for
decorative purposes. Artists working in these markets enjoyed the liberty from figurative
culture and started to come up with some themes which were closer to life.
C) With their new-found liberty of the expression and changed the status of the patron's
artists started to experiment with the sketches of the rich and influential people of the society.
Apart from they started capturing nature more eloquently, previously it was only a backdrop,
however, after the arrival of the northern tendencies, it became the main subject of the
paintings. Painter Hieronymus Bosch came up with one such painting under the title "The
Garden of earthly delights." Apart from the religious undertones, this painting was mainly
dedicated to the beauty of nature.
4.
A) St. Petersburg in Russia is a poignant example of Baroque architecture. The architecture
of this city shows us a centralized layout plan. All the mammoth structures of the city like the
palaces of the kings and churches were located in the middle. Rest of the city was also