First Reading

The Baroque period brought with it much reform and change in the church. The works of the artists in the Baroque were influenced by the religious movements occurring, along with the scientific revolution. Many artists portrayed great works involving religious characters, for instance Michelangelo’s The Last Judgment involves Christ surrounded by Christian martyrs and numerous resurrected people. This work reflected Michelangelo’s negative attitude brought out by an era full of religious conflicts. The style Michelangelo used is categorized as mannerist and involves great complexity and exaggerations. He portrayed salvation different than previous artists and gave it a more distressed feeling. This correlates directly to the religious wars that had been fought. If people were fighting each other about religion and god, then it seems like god wants this to happen and he is a more negative figure. It seems as though, rather than being a loving, he would rather see people fight and suffer during their life.