Feb 6 & 8

02/06/2012

Cities are places of both Heaven as they helped establish the hierarchy and to control & unify the people
Cities were also Hellish as they are imperfect, unstable and decaying

Anna de Santos Agostino, 1737- dream of Hell quote is reminiscent of the Euro idea of the New World as a fallen paradisaical Eden.

Heaven is an ordered city, without end, full of gems and sweet music.

The organic Earth melts away and is replaced by geometry.

Cities were full of those breaking down the standards of social order, full of chaos
Within the structured architectural order of a city everyone is represented by their house as a low version of the body politic.

Treachery of Images: when the representation of object holds no power this happens when the image which should only used by people with power is used by the masses.  One must control the image to control the power of the image.  This forces others to live with in their own rank as fear occurs when they do not.

Human Condition by Rene Magritte

God:
Mother Church represented as city on earth in similitude of Heavenly order
Each private church had some type of chapel along with multiple public churches per city.
Religion Permeated life; not just an hour on Sunday

St. Augustine of Hippo:
middle ages, established Christianity as the dominate religion
separated earthly and heavenly realms based on Plato

Constantine:
Battle of Milano Bridge.
In a dream an angel told Constantine that if he fought under the sign of the cross (aka Christ) he would win, he do so, won and legalized/promoted Christianity.  Was not baptized until his deathbed so that he would enter the kingdom pure.  After his death the Imperial Roman culture challenged Christianity until St Augustine.

Aristotle:
Work + Ethics + Politics = Society = Individuals + Families + Cities

Plato:
The Allegory of the Cave (based on Socrates) states forms on earth are not real but shadows of reality which only exists in Heaven.

The Church as an institution must make this cosmic reality manifest which is facilitated by the construction of Cathedrals (Gothic etc) is an expression of comic reality on earth in city & pivotal to life yet totally separate.  The city revolves around the church as the citizen's life in physicality revolves around the building of the church and ritual and yet that has nothing to do with the mundane business of daily living.

1517: Reformation- Church in New World is not Augustine but Post Lutheran.  The Reformation changes the relationship between people & church, people & clergy, people & monarchy etc. (example: Bosch paints the nun as a pig accepting indulgences/payment for sins)

St. Peter's Church/Pope Leo X is broke and therefore institutes indulgences in order to fill the coffers, primarily an issue in Germanic lands

Protestants: Saved by Grace, you can never do enough, it is through Christ and your faith that you are saved

Catholics:  Must earn salvation or at the very least pay for sins (such as burning them off in purgatory)

Council of Trent-1561- Ruling on Images: Didactic images only as counter to iconoclasm.

Reformation & Counter Reformation is a global battle, not localized to the Mediterranean.

02/08/2012

Colonial Brazilian Churches - churches were not just religious spaces but were where the city of man merged with the city of God.

Counter Reformation fought with Art, images, written word & churches
Individuals were expected to attend church at least once a day.  Matins & Vespers for daily faithful and Mass on Sunday.  Seats were not allowed, standing encouraged piety.   This is what made you civilized and gave you stature.  Begs the question of the Monumental and the Mundane.

Orders: converted then competed for patronage (tension)
Jesuits (1549)
Benedictines (1581)
Franciscans (1584)
Carmelites (1586)

Reductions (for Indians) scattered Indians were 'collected,' baptized and organized into 'cities' to be monitored.

Baroque Art: Paintings, Architecture & Sculpture all melt together to create one complete 'work' which was considered good designo in the Platonic sense and do not exists separately.  Includes Trompe l'oiel elements.

Much of the decorative is from/made in Lisbon.  Entire churches were carved in Portugal and shipped to Brazil.

3rd Orders - 1st Male, 2nd Female, 3rd Laymen.  3rd orders had chapels adjoining the formal monastic chapels which were both places of piety and an early equivalent to the country club.


Rio population 15,000.  Death was a major part of life, not sanitary death like we have now.  Monks and Nuns played roles of martyrdom as "the blood of the martyrs waters the faith of the church."  Monks & Nuns give up 'life' and their posterity as a sacrifice of faith.  This makes them living saints which can be paid for prayers on the buyer's behalf just as the saints in heaven and the Virgin pray for souls to Christ, the monks and nuns will pray to the Virgin who is more likely to listen to them than to the buyer.  

Death of the Just & Death of the Sinner
Pain is evident on decorative figures faces as parishioners enter and exit the church as reminder of what kind of death one wanted to have.

Public/Parish churches were funded by the government and as the Pope/church was bankrupt the King was made responsible for buildings and congregations

Aldea-Small settlement, no church
Fazenda - Farm/plantation, may or may not have a private chapel
Capellas - community with a church but not royally funded
Paroquin - community with a government church and higher status
Villa - government seat with church
Cidade - government power, churches, Cathedral (Seat of the Bishop) true city

King forbade certain orders for fear that they would 'steal' all the gold by winning over the people

Churches were built at the highest point on the skyline possible for visual and symbolic impact but also facilitate the sound of the bells.  Bells were a call to worship, a newscast (i.e. death, emergencies etc)



Sacrament- was blessed as literal not symbolic body of Christ - chancel

Influence of Asian ceramics & silks, wealth was equated to empire goods, Euro elite or purebred community members which made up the Brotherhood of the Holy Sacrament who were responsible for distributing the sacrament to all.