In class on Thursday, we learned about the Franciscan order, the life of St. Francis, and the associated artwork. I found the formation of a new order interesting because it brings upon new works of art that tell a different story compared to other works. For example, we see scenes of St. Francis renouncing his inheritance to his father and the Franciscan order getting approved by the Pope. These scenes place emphasis on the individual saint instead of Mary and Jesus.
What I found interesting was the creation of religious works that were made with the individual in mind. I found the inclusion of the patron praying in The Lamentation Over the Dead Christ to be fascinating because it seems to be a great way for the patron to show his/her devotion to the church. However, I find this detail to be almost as bad as buying/selling indulgences because it’s an easy way to show the patron is devoted to the church without actually having to put in the effort and attend service.
Additionally, I found The Garden of Earthly Delights to also show this same concept. Since this work of art was not created for a church setting, it depicts a lot more Earthly objects as opposed to the heavily gilded church works. This is quite unusual especially because artists usually emphasized the difference between Since this work is a conversation piece, I believe this opens the door to another use of religious art – for intellectual stimulation and learning.