Describe the issues of the Protestant Reformation and their impact on the arts

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The Protestant Reformation began in Germany, where voices that opposed to Church authority were most vocal. The movement was galvanized by Martin Luther, whose inflammatory sermons and essays offered radical remedies to what he called "the misery and wretchedness of Christendom." In 1517, in pointed criticism of Church abuses, Luther posted on the door of the collegiate church at Wittenberg a list of ninety-five subjects he intended for dispute with the leaders of the Church of Rome. Extending his criticism of Church abuses and Church doctrine, he attacked monasticism and clerical celibacy and was unwilling to accept the pope as the ultimate source of religious authority. Luther held that the ultimate source of authority in matters of faith and doctrine was Scripture, as interpreted by the individual Christian.
Luther, himself a student of music, emphasized music as a source of religious instruction, encouraged the writing of hymnals, and reorganized the German Mass to include both congregational and professional singing. Luther held that all religious texts should be sung in German, so that the faithful might understand their message. He was partial to the chorale,a congregational hymn that served to enhance the spirit of Protestant worship. Luther's chorales had a major influence on religious music for centuries. And although in the hands of later composers the chorale became a complex polyphonic vehicle for voices and instruments, at its inception it was performed with all voices singing the same words at the same time. It was thus an ideal medium for the communal expression of Protestant piety.
The Protestant Reformation also cast a long shadow upon the religious art of the North. Protestants rejected the traditional imagery of medieval piety, along with church relics and sacred images, which they associated with superstition and idolatry. Protestant iconoclasts stripped the stained glass from cathedral windows, shattered religious sculpture, whitewashed church frescoes, and destroyed altarpieces. At the same time, however, the voices of reform encouraged the proliferation of private devotional art, particularly that which illustrated biblical themes.