Reformation

   The Reformation was a movement of dissent from the Catholic Church that took place in the 16th century and resulted in the birth of Protestantism. It was launched in 1517 when Martin Luther, dissatisfied with the excessive sale of indulgences by the pope to finance the building of St. Peter's, Rome, and abuses from the clergy, posted his Ninety-Five Theses on the main portals of Wittenberg Cathedral in Germany. These theses attacked the pope and explained Luther's own position on contrition and penance. Composed in Latin, they were translated into German and dispersed. The movement soon caught on in the major centers of Northern Europe with Philip Melanchthon, Martin Bucer, Ulrich Zwingli, and John Calvin emerging as leading figures. Some of the Catholic tenets the Protestants questioned were the role of the Virgin Mary in the story of salvation, the validity of sainthood and martyrdom, and the doctrine of transubstantiation when the host becomes the actual body and blood of Christ. The Reformation brought major changes to art since Protestants do not decorate their churches with images or use them for private devotion. Therefore, patronage in Protestant countries centered mainly on portraiture and genre scenes. In Catholic regions, on the other hand, religious scenes that disputed Protestant views, such as the martyrdom of saints, for example, were commissioned in large quantities.