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Apotheosis Of St. Ignatius As Propaganda

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Bernini’s Ecstasy of St. Teresa and Pozzo’s Apotheosis of Saint Ignatius use of Propaganda
The Protestant Reformation was a religious and political revolution which occurred during the sixteenth century when people began to question the Catholic Church’s authority. Due to the Catholic Church’s overuse of power and authority, many people chose to disconnect themselves from the Church; as a result the Catholic Church lost many of its supporters. Following the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Church attempted many different methods of propaganda to gain back their followers. During this time the Baroque style became extremely popular and was used among many artists. The Baroque style is characterized by dramatic elements, the intense use of …show more content…

This fascinating painting is filled with symbolic figures, and also conveys the importance of moral order. The Apotheosis of Saint Ignatius is based on the Triumph of Saint Ignatius of Loyola (Sayre 687). Saint Ignatius of Loyla was a dedicated traditionalist and his set of guidelines was a response to the upheaval caused by the Protestant Reformation. Ignatius of Loyola founded the Jesuits which were also known as the Society of Jesus, they were responsible for leading the Counter-Reformation which aimed to increase religious faith within the Roman Catholic Church (Sayre 684). Andrea Pozzo became a Jesuit which influenced his artwork; the purpose of the Apotheosis of Saint Ignatius is to express the intentions of the Jesuits and expand the Roman Catholic beliefs to gain back followers. Sayre stated that, “All agreed that the purpose of religious art was to teach and inspire the faithful, that it should always be intelligible and realistic, and that it should be emotional stimulus to peity (Sayre 684). Even if a viewer does not understand exactly what is going on in this painting, the amazing details and unique perspective will catch the viewers’ attention and make them feel as if they are standing inside the church of Sant'Ignazio. This artwork suddenly gives viewers a strong emotional response and …show more content…

Teresa is a sculpture created by the Baroque artist Gianlorenzo Bernini. Bernini included religion along with a strong sense of sexuality in his sculpture of Teresa. In this sculpture, an angel is standing over Teresa with an arrow in his hand, while Teresa’s facial expression suggests that she is having a sexual orgasm. This sculpture was based on Saint Teresa’s description of her sensual experience with an angel (Sayre 681). The imagery Bernini uses suggests that Teresa she is feeling an intense physical desire, and a strong emotional connection to the Angel and Christ. This sculpture is extremely dramatic, and expresses intense human emotion and sexuality. Although I do not believe it is effective propaganda due to the symbolism, in order for viewers to understand this sculpture they would need to know the story of Teresa, and understand what is happening in the sculpture. I believe that affective propaganda should be appealing to the eye, but also give viewers an emotional response as soon as they view the artwork, without needing to analyze

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