Has Art been used by Religion and Government for Psychological control ?
When one examines the subject of Art and its history specifically from the Renaissance era to present day, a deep symbiotic connection with religious and spiritual belief systems can be found. If we examine that era's history of these relationships, how they originated and why -- the way its effects have impacted the Western world can be found; doing so reveals the link of a ruling elite entangled within this relationship between art and religion.
According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of Art is as follows: "something that is created with imagination and skill and that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas or feelings." The expression of important ideas or feelings is really the core motive as to why art was used as a tool for spiritual and psychological manipulation. When examining the etymology of the word art, it can be found that in the 1300's art was documented to be seen as a skill which resulted from learning or practice. The Latin form artus means "joint;" German art is defined as "manner, mode", from the root ar- meaning "fit together, join" (Friesinger 120).
The first point I'd like to focus on is the mindset of early Europeans, specifically prior to the 1400's. During this time it was believed that the stars, planets, and Sun revolved around the Earth. Europeans felt that Europe was actually the center of the world; the existence and salvation of the people of Europe was the purpose of the Universe (“Art of the Western World: Realms of Light—The Baroque”). When we analyze this mindset of the European elite, something to consider would be that a healthy person sustains boundaries. Interpersonal and even inter-disciplinary relationships are critically ascertained in relation to boundaries. During our developmental stages of youth, how we relate interpersonally is to a large extent shaped by our earliest relationships. Supportive early interpersonal relationships with a person, gives that individual a sense of self, or in other words creates self-definition. However, when the relationship is negative, that person becomes susceptible to self-fragmentation because his expression of emotional states have not been met with the essential reaction from the negative relations surrounding this individual, and thus cannot be incorporated into the organization of this person's self-experience. Thus the individual will need to have their emotional state of mind remedied with emotional support to heal damage caused by the negative relationship. Without emotional support, the experience of the negative relationship is not likely to be assimilated by the individual in a healthy manner from which they can learn any applicable lesson needed; they are more likely to deny the negative experience as a means of self-preservation in order to regain the peace of mind they had prior to that experience of the negative relationship. Viewing things from a perspective of understanding for the time, with the lack of both knowledge and experience of things outside of their scope of comprehension, Europe cannot be blamed for such a narcissist view of itself. It was in the 1400's when they were informed of overseas explorations of other continents and the late 15th century provided Europe with the knowledge that the Earth actually revolved around the sun. In 1543 that Nikolaus Copernicus presented new information in his publication of Six Books Concerning the Revolution of the Heavenly Orbs. In his astronomical work, he taught that the Earth in fact revolves around the Sun (Kuiper 80). This new way of looking at the world and how they saw themselves in relationship to it would have been a shattering blow to the egos of the elite.
Based on this information, it can be surmised that the knowledge of a spherical Earth revolving around the Sun and continents existing overseas, would have an effect of psychological fragmentation. So upon becoming enlightened of these new found truths monarchy had a choice to make; to simply accept these new facts to be true and move forward to evolve in a balanced way or to resist the new information in order to recover the rationale they were brought up to believe.
We will find the latter to be the path which the European elite took, upon examination of the term Gold, God, and Glory from the 17th century Baroque period. Gold, God, and Glory was a Historian shorthand term which describes the agenda behind producing overseas exploration, growth, and conquest that permitted various European countries the ability to rise to world power from the 14th century to the late 17th century. The hunt for material gain by means of receiving and selling Asian spices, slaves from Africa, metals from the Americas and other resources refers to the term "Gold". "God" is in reference to violent crusading and missionary practices of Christianity, characterized partly by feuding with Islam and animosity toward non-Christian beliefs, in addition to the rift between Protestants and Catholics. The conflict between monarchies refers to "Glory". Some kings looked to construct their entitlement to newly acquainted, regions fortify their position in European politics, and boost their power at the expense of the nobility that already owned these newly acquired lands. These newly orchestrated ideas implemented by the ruling body gave rise to following the creed of mercantilism, which held that governments and large private companies should unite to multiply the state’s wealth by accumulating the capital of precious metals (Thompson). Now we can see how these actions of subordinating other nations to European rule fits with the root of the word art, which is ar- that means to join. The execution of this Gold, God, and Glory agenda assimilated those nations conquered into European culture, and also shows not just the clergy's hand in influencing art but also the ruling elite as well.
It wasn't sufficient for the elite to simply conquer foreign lands. In order to uphold their original belief that Europe is the center of the world and that the purpose of the Universe is for the existence and salvation of its people, Europe used two methods of assimilation of the people into its culture. Apart from the brutalities endured from war, such as the mass murder of elders and medicine men (whom the people learned from, these were the foundations of the tribe that held the tribes history and identity), remaining survivors were often geologically displaced and brainwashed (Tsarion). "The fine arts of the world would be infinitely richer if produced by men whose attitudes toward life came forward out of the more inclusive background which it is the constant effort of religion to maintain in the human consciousness" (Vogt 50). It would make sense that "perhaps a healthy discipline such as art also needs to maintain its boundaries" (Campbell 12). Digging deeper into western European history, one can see the views of those authors regarding separation of art and religion, is not shared by the ruling elite of Europe's past, because it was by the use of art that the survivors of the invasions and massacres were persuaded to converting from their own beliefs.
The use of spiritual and psychological programming is also very apparent in paintings and sculpture from the 14th century on through the ages. Examples of this can be observed in works of art that condemn subjects, as seen in a series of many works of art named The Last Judgement, all done by various artists of the 14th and 15th centuries; to art that depicts divine intervention, such as in the Conversion of St. Paul by Caravaggio painted in 1600. Examples of these works can be seen in Appendices I – IV.
Images Appendix I
Images Appendix II
Images Appendix III
Image Appendix IV
The Catholic Church had an insatiable demand for religious images and architecture that would support a faith in the church and its teachings. To fulfill the demands of the church, artists and architects from all over Europe flocked into Rome. The expectation of the church, was that the art would captivate the people to lure them into the churches, inspiring awe and faith, which would lead up to religious commitment (“Art of the Western World: Realms of Light—The Baroque”).
The church wasn’t alone in using art in a way that expresses important ideas or feelings; there are many examples of this done by the monarchy and Dutch Republic. One example of this would be architecture of the Belvedere Palace; its design pushing a visitor to be a player in the allegory of the human journey to eternity.
The church wasn’t alone in using art in a way that expresses important ideas or feelings; there are many examples of this done by the monarchy and Dutch Republic. One example of this would be architecture of the Belvedere Palace; its design pushing a visitor to be a player in the allegory of the human journey to eternity.
Images Appendix V
There were also the Equestrian portraits of Kings and princes, meant to convince viewers that if the rider was capable of controlling a rearing horse with one hand, then surely he has what it takes to rule a kingdom – as depicted in Appendix VI.
Images Appendix VI
In addition to the aforementioned examples, there were also the elaborate abbey's of the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperors; chains of these structures were built along the Danube River. The art work of these religious associations, showed a political point of bearing witness to the unity of Christianity and Empire. It also expressed Austria's belief that they were the saviors of Christian Europe, that the Habsburg Empire had the divine right to rule.
Images Appendix VII
In Rome, we have The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa which is the central sculpture within the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria. This work creates a visual sensation that brings the viewer into its space so that the viewing party may empathize with Saint Teresa's ecstasy as the angel fills her with an overwhelming spiritual bliss of fire and new found love of God (“Art of the Western World: Realms of Light—The Baroque”).
Images Appendix VIII
In the Netherlands group portraits served a similar function as the monarch's Equestrian portraits; even today we can see echoes of the Dutch republic in our own government and corporations, since the Dutch Republic was held by corporate bodies, boards of governors, and councils. The painting in Appendix IX shows one example of many Netherlands group portraits which were taken in the 17th century.
Images Appendix IX
Even though the churches in the Dutch Netherlands had been stripped of their pictures, their beliefs were still depicted in their paintings. One example is Vermeer's woman weighing pearls, which cautions that financial affluence should not deter us from our ultimate fate. Apart from the Dutch Republic's Corporation influencing our western governing body, another examples of art being used in modern times would be through marketing, which is the business of promoting and selling products or services.
Images Appendix X
What would life have been like for the cultures that were displaced and how would they have evolved as a people today, had they not been assimilated into the "Europe is the center of the world" mentality? The world will never know. Their own art was defaced and much destroyed by Christian missionaries (Christian Vandalism). So many have no idea what the spiritual beliefs or art of their own people look like, because they were intentionally made to forget who they were, thus spreading the psychological fragmentation and reasserting Europe's belief that Europe is the center of the world. Europe has no control of the heavenly bodies to make the stars, Sun, and planets revolve around the Earth, however their actions thus far have proven to validate the self–righteous belief that they are the center of the world, by creating a psychologically impaired system that conforms to this belief.
Works Cited
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Kuiper, Kathleen The Britannica Guide to Theories and Ideas That Changed the Modern
World. United States: Rosen Education Service, 1 Oct. 2009. Print.
Campbell, Douglas G. Seeing: When Art and Faith Intersect. United States: University Press of
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Thompson, Gale "Gold, God, and Glory." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences.
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Vogt, Von Ogden. Art & Religion. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1921. Print.
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