ARTH 28.04 Reform and Response in Sixteenth-century Northern Europe
In 1517 Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the door of the castle chapel in Wittenberg. That act was the culmination of decades of frustration with an established Church that, to many believers, had lost its way. What followed was a European debate for the very souls of men. The Reformation brought into question the assumptions by which most Europeans had lived—that the Church’s teachings, personal good actions, and Christ’s sacrifice could insure their salvation. Using the printing press and artworks, both sides presented their positions in propagandistic language that could be both bombastic and subtle. We will look at this central event in the shaping of free will, and how it played out in the art created in Northern Europe at that time.