Quote:
Originally Posted by HPLovecraft
What I will say, however, concerns the point you mention about the Bible (and what I assume you to truly mean -- religion) encouraging mediocrity and hampering ambition. This is straight-up bologna. Some of the greatest artistic expressions of our western heritage are existent because of religion. Do you believe Michaelangelo aspired to mediocrity? Leonardo (who also happened to be a groundbreaking scientist)? Are you familiar with the work of John Milton? Dante? Machiavelli? How about Gothic architecture?
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You can't remove them from their times. In most cases they were being commissioned to paint/create religious works of art. Guess why that might be? Churches had a lot of money and power in those days and most people were Christians in Europe. We don't know what they would have painted/designed had different patrons or institutions hired them instead. Should we credit Christianity for the great Muslim artists or Asian artists of the same period? I notice you don't trot out anybody not from the Western European heritage and tradition.
As well it can be suggested the Christianity was more widespread back then and being an atheist was less of an option, especially if you wanted to retain credibility, the appearance of sanity, respect, etc. It was institutionally empowered.
I would suggest that if they were great Christians they would not have been artists at all but would have been priests/monks instead. Some of the men you name might have considered themselves not to be very devout Christians, I don't know their histories in precise detail.
Crediting Christianity for their artistic talent is ridiculous. Credit the artists.
For the record I love gothic architecture.