SIGNIFICANCE OF ART AND MUSIC THE THEOLOGICAL, POLITICAL, AND PHILOSOPHICAL MOVEMENT CALLED AS THE LONG REFORMATION

Abstract

The expression of music and art is the most profound for the human longings and emotions, which
has measured the depths of human interpretation of experience through the spiritual and physical
world. The art and music in the West are styles and decorative design, and a progression of western
thoughts from pre-modern to post-modern period. It is a yearning desire through beautiful image
and eternality. The significance of art and music during the movement of theological, political, and
philosophical way, which was known as Protestant Reformation in Europe, is great. Rembrandt van
Rijn (1606-1669) in art and Johan Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) in music are two great names in the
history of Western fine arts. The exploration of genii like Sebastian and Rembrandt was the result
of the Reformation in theology, thoughts, and practice. Music and art existed within the realm of the
church from the beginning of the idea of reformation in Western Europe. Music and art were
campaigned, financed, and encouraged as a pedagogical approach by the church as a daughter of
church institution. During the reformation Catholics answered to the Protestant movement through
art and music as their aristocratic weapon or as Counter-Reformation; that has been rooted in the
inviolable tradition of Catholicism. Art and music were language, symbols, spirit, and thoughts of
the people as a flock that would direct people into morality and salvation by value, myth, sermons,
drama and by all other arts and to protect them from Protestantism. According to Hans
Rookmaaker, art was described by portraying a world of superhumans, muscular within an
environment fitting for such begins as Counter-Reformation. The artistic movement with the
Reformation and Counter-Reformation between Protestant and Catholic community was a symbol
of Renaissance that had represented the rebirth of classical sources and a resurgence of humanism.
According to Paul Henry Lang, the art form of the Renaissance was aristocratic, learned, while the
Reformation was concerned with divine connection with God through direct access with the Lord.
Rookmaaker described that the Dutch artists painted the world and life realistically without
glorifying the creature. The objective of the article is to know the story of reformation by the
Protestants and its counter by the Catholic community. The outcome of the article is to realize the
crisis of early modern Europe through reformation and its reflection in European society. The
methodology has been done by documentary analysis which is books, websites, and academic
journals.The methodology has been also followed by a qualitative approach which is the essay of words. The
feature question is how music was important in several views of scholars during the 16th century?