Anonymous, Satire on the Popery, Germany 1555
This etching is a great representation of criticism of the Catholic Church during the Protestant Reformation. Thanks to the newly designed printing press, artwork such as this one could be mass produced and dispersed throughout Europe and used as a tool of propaganda to help spread the Reformation. The figure on the left represents the highest earthly authority of the Catholic Church, The Pope. He appears as a three-headed fictitious character, buying protection from the Roman Army, represented by the Soldier on the right. During the Reformation of the 16th Century, leaders such as John Calvin and Martin Luther, and their reformist followers, had many doubts of the validity and integrity of the Catholic Church. There was much corruption within the church, and the Reformists didn’t feel the Doctrines of the Church were valid, but mostly, they felt as though a relationship with God is a personal relationship; not a relationship that needed to be mediated through an authority such as the Pope.
I was raised Catholic and at an early age (probably right around the time of my First Communion) I began to have my own doubts about the Church. Even as a child, it seemed silly to me give an 8 year old a piece of bread and then wash it down with a swig of wine, and call it the body and blood of Christ. But hey, who was I to turn down wine?
As an adult, I’m somewhat of a critic of religion, not just Catholicism but Religion in general. I have my own doubts about the stories of an Almighty creator; the Universe seems much bigger than one being could create. So I think I was initially drawn to this picture because it’s fairly similar to my own opinions of God; a bolstered, if not fictitious, character who is used by mankind to generate fear and gain authority over the masses.
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/53.677.5
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestant_Reformation
skrobles 
Skrobles,
I found this picture also very intriguing. I was also raised Catholic from a very early age and forced to go to Sunday School as well as Mass. I too feel your pull away from the religion belief. I think if I was given more of a choice in participating in church that I would have had a better experience than being dragged every Sunday. I agree full with Martian Luther and his followers that the relationship with god is personal and cannot be bought like people were trying to do.
As far as the Pope, I don’t think he had the power to tell people they were going straight to heaven. He served only as God’s messenger. Getting to the picture itself it was very dark indeed and your explanation for the connection you had with it was very deep. It wasn’t just the ordinary “it looked cool” and that is what I enjoyed reading about.
I am glad you were able to describe what each figure was because it can be a little bit hard to differentiate. It certainly has a lot of intricate detailing that shows how much time and effort was put into the piece of art. How did you end up coming across it in the first place? Thank you for sharing this it was really fun and different to read!
I actually found it while I was looking on the Metropolitan Museum’s Reformation timeline. Their website has detailed descriptions and historical time-lines of art from all over the world and throughout history! It’s an awesome reference!
What an interesting portrayal of the Catholic church in this picture. Certainly during the Protestant Reformation it must have caused a stir in the Catholic Church. I wonder what the Roman Church thought of this painting when it “came to light”? Perhaps that’s why the artist is Anonymous?
The detail is amazing and gives great depth to the picture.
I have to disagree about your ending comment about God. In my mind, the Pope and God have nothing in common. The Pope seeks to control his constituents by means of condemning them if they do not follow all the guidelines of the Church. God, on the other hand, seeks people out of love for them as individuals.
You did a very nice job describing the claims made by the Protest Reformists, on the Catholic Church. I especially love that you took your personal life and opinions and incorporated it into the topic. The Protestant Reformation was basically a lot of individuals who questioned religious practices, as you did as a child. You mentioned how this artwork was used sort of like propaganda against the Catholic Church, I never made that correlation until you brought it up. I usually associated propaganda with war, but in a way the religious differences created a spiritual war. Great Job you seemed to understand the material and concept well.
I like how informative your post is. I also like the painting. I was never very religious, I like that they believed the pope had too much power. I agree any relationship with god should be a personal one. I am very critical of religion also. I went to church when I was younger, and for many reasons no longer go. What is your opinion on the current pope? Do you think he has too much power?
our criteria for evaluating presentations is based on the following
1. Did they state the factual information? Artist, title, place, etc.
2. Did they explain why they liked the work?
3. Did they convincingly connect the work to one or more of the influences during the Italian and/or Northern Renaissance?
4. Were their claims substantiated and cited?
5. What is your reaction to what they wrote.
whoops, was not finished.
our criteria for evaluating presentations is based on the following
1. Did they state the factual information? Artist, title, place, etc.
The information was factual.
2. Did they explain why they liked the work?
You explained why you liked is and related it to your personal life.
3. Did they convincingly connect the work to one or more of the influences during the Italian and/or Northern Renaissance?
Yes, it was connected to reformers.
4. Were their claims substantiated and cited?
Yes, but not in MLA.
5. What is your reaction to what they wrote.
I liked it. I agree with some opinions.
I’ll add a little bit to this discussion. During my time studying art at the Vatican, you truly get the sense that the hierarchy of the Catholic Church believe that the Pope is the divinely appointed representative of God as a human. They see the church as having a direct lineage from Christ to the apostle Peter who is given the title of the first Pope. It is clearly seen from their point of view that the leadership of the Pope is the way that God directly and continuously controls the administration of spiritual matters here on earth until the second coming of Christ.
FYI – Islam believes that Christ came again and directly trace Mohammad back to Christ, who also proclaimed that he was Christ come again. Baha’ullah in the 1860’s proclaimed that he is the direct lineage to Mohammad, and Christ – therefore Christ has come back twice. The Bahai’s have a very impressive administration that is believed to be God’s divine intervention in earthly affairs. And Jews are still waiting for the Messiah, they don’t recognize Christ as the one foretold in the prophecies.