Wen Duan Honggang
The Renaissance (14th-16th centuries) was hailed as the first significant ideological emancipation movement in modern Times in the West, the essence of which was that the emerging bourgeoisie, in the name of reviving ancient Greek culture and art, advocated people to pursue the "humanistic spirit" and opposed the shackles and control of "theological ideas", aiming to remove all obstacles to the development of capitalism in the West.
However, "theological thought" has a long history in the West, and since the founding of Christianity from ancient Rome in the 1st century AD, it has quickly developed into an instrument of ecclesiastical control over the populace. Especially after the implementation of the medieval (5th century- 15th century) "theocracy" system, theological thought became a sacred and inviolable spiritual belief in one fell swoop, and the church used various privileges to trumpet that the gods were the saviors of the world, that the world must obey the gods, and that all acts of disrespect to the gods were acts of great disobedience. Through such foolishness and paralysis, the people have been living in dire straits.
Rubens, The Farmer's Dance
Everything under the heavens follows the law that the prosperity must decline and the extreme must be reversed, and from the end of the 13th century to the beginning of the 14th century, when theological thought was most prevalent, a group of new bourgeoisie with ideological opinions and economic strength appeared in the city-states of Florence, Venice, Genoa, etc., who no longer believed in the sweet words of theological thought, and then, in order to get rid of the control of theological thought, a vigorous "Renaissance" movement occurred.
However, the influence of theological thought in Europe is deeply rooted, and it is difficult to shake the authority of theological thought by relying only on a "Renaissance" movement, so at the end of the Renaissance, there was a huge "Reformation" in the West, the purpose of which, like the "Renaissance", was to break the spiritual shackles of Catholicism on the people, change the ecological environment within the Catholic Church, lay the foundation for the development of European capitalism, and find a way out for the development of a pluralistic modern society.
Rubens, Father and Daughter
The original intention of the "Reformation" was good, and the fundamental purpose was to eliminate the bad habits and vices accumulated within the church for a long time. Because in the church at this time, many clergy were selfish and self-serving, and the phenomenon of corruption was quite serious, which caused dissatisfaction among many believers, and it was difficult for the people to be indignant without reform.
The "Baroque" master and famous German oil painter Rubens (1577-1640) lived at the beginning of the Reformation, so most of his creations revolved around these historical missions and the background of the times.
Beginning in 1612, Rubens created several oil paintings against theological authority based on true stories of what happened in ancient Rome, mainly "The Good Works of the Romans" in 1612, "Simon and Perot" in 1635, and "Father and Daughter" in 1630.
Rubens, "Furman and the Children"
In fact, these 3 oil paintings created in different years are basically the same in composition and content, the only difference is that "Father and Daughter" is more colorful than the first two paintings, and the details are more prominent.
According to art historians, these three paintings are only three versions of one painting, and after Rubens created the first version, the work was collected by others, he created a second version, and then he was collected, and he created a third version.
Father and Daughter tells a touching story that transcends ethical and secular concepts, preaching the spirit of fraternity and altruism in Christianity, while criticizing the Brutal Suppression of Christianity in the Roman Empire.
In a prison, a young girl unbuttons her shirt, exposes her breasts, and brings her nipples closer to the mouth of a bound old man, feeding and drinking the old man. Several of the guards watched through the window in amazement at what they were doing.
Rubens, "Venus of Makeup"
Judging from the content of the picture, this painting does not have many highlights, however, when the viewer understands its background before and after the story, it will definitely be impressed.
The young girl in the painting is called Perot, and the old man is called Simon, who is her father. Simon was a Christian who was imprisoned on trumped-up charges for violating the interests of the church, and what awaited him would be hanged. During his time in prison, Simon was tortured and humiliated, and his food was occasionally withheld by the guards, resulting in him often starving.
Once, when Perot came to visit her father, she found that his father was dying, perhaps inspired by "blood is thicker than water", she did not consider any worldly vision and ethical concepts, did not hesitate to undo her clothes, fed her father with her own milk, and saved his father. Later, several guards discovered Perot's act of feeding his father with milk, and they immediately reported it to their superiors.
At first, the Church considered the father-daughter behavior to be unseemly and prepared to sentence both father and daughter to hanging to demonstrate the authority of the Church.
Rubens, The Cult of the Three Doctors of the East
Later, this incident spread in the city of Rome, surprising everyone, and when people understood Perot's kind deeds, they were moved, thinking that her spirit of fraternity and compassion, beyond worldly concepts, were very worthy of development.
Therefore, almost all the people support the father-daughter duo.
Under the pressure of public opinion, the church finally agreed with the people's views and exonerated Simon.
Perot was very distressed to see her father tortured in prison, and she disregarded the shackles of ethics and morality, and even risked being killed if she was discovered, and fed her father with her own milk.
It was Perot's persistence, firmness and calmness that made the hard heart of the Roman rulers instantly soften, and they felt that Perot's behavior was in line with the spirit of fraternity and compassion advocated by Jesus, the perfect interpretation of altruism, an expression of the beauty of human nature, so that the Church pardoned Perot's crimes, and even her father was pardoned.
Rubens, Mars and Sylvia, God of War
Art is the condensation and sublimation of reality, and the painting master Rubens keenly grasps the background of the times and the social reality of this period, and wants to awaken the conscience of an era through this painting. Judging by the response, he did.
It is said that when "Father and Daughter" was on tour, when the visitors learned about the background of the creation, they were moved to tears by Perot's love beyond worldly concepts, and they did not want to leave the painting for a long time.
"Father and Daughter" is also remarkable in terms of expression techniques, using the symbolic technique of color contrast to enrich the visual tension of the picture. For example, having Perot wear a bright, bright red dress symbolizes that she is a warm and loving girl, while setting off the darkness of the prison. Simon's disheveled clothes and emaciated body symbolize his inhuman life in prison. In the upper right corner of the picture, two guards stare through the window at the movement of the prison, symbolizing that during the late Roman rule, the freedom of the people was monitored at all times, and if they were not careful, they would catch fire.