The Roman Catholic faith was very particular about what could and could not be depicted in art. This is mainly due to the fact that the Roman Catholic faith has strong ties to the Christian tradition, which has also prevented depictions of certain people, events, or symbols from being included. These restrictions have often led artists to evade these limitations by creating works that are praised for their beauty or elusiveness rather than for their moral ambiguity. One example of this is the Italian painter Caravaggio’s painting called "The Calling of St Matthew" which brilliantly shows off his talent at depicting details quickly yet poetically without explicitly depicting anything immoral. This painting portrays Jesus calling St. Matthew, who is dressed in his wealthy clothing, to lead the Christian community. As you can see the painting shows St Matthew with no mark of skin visible (possibly because he had recently converted) and Jesus with no mark of his crucifixion. Other examples of ambiguous paintings include Leonardo da Vinci’s "The Last Supper", which after much controversy was actually restored to what is believed to be its original state, and Michelangelo’s "The Creation of Adam" on the Sistine Chapel ceiling which shows nude figures without any sign of explicit nudity. Due to this ambiguity many artists were able to use this opportunity to create art that portrayed contemporary events or beliefs that were not available or popular at the time. Many of these pieces of art still exist today and represent a sort of snapshot into a specific time period. The art of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, which began in 1848, was one such group that felt limited by the Roman Catholic faith due to its boundaries on what could or could not be depicted. In order to circumvent this limitation several members of the group decided to create their own brotherhood where they would place emphasis on ancient art and classical virtues that were not restricted by religious tradition. They wanted to create a time period where people could be openly exposed to more contemporary depictions without being shamed by others for this type of imagery. They felt that their art was more in tune with nature and the human body than the stiffer art of the Renaissance. They felt that this new style would be more in line with what people were meant to be exposed to. One of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood’s most renowned works is John Keats’ poem ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’ (1819), where he writes about an encounter with a seductive woman in medieval clothing. The members of this brotherhood also introduced the portrayal of women is less reserved, chaste clothing that is often shown wearing diaphanous gowns which allows the figure to breathe freely with no fabric hindering her movement. This choice of clothing shows women as active and liberated and not as entirely dependent on men. This brotherhood also focuses on the natural world, which is evident in "Ophelia" (1851) by Millais. This piece of art shows a scene from Shakespeare’s Hamlet where Ophelia drowns herself after she is heartbroken by Hamlet’s rejection of her love. In this painting, Millais displays the dissolution of Ophelia’s body as it slowly sinks down to the bottom of a river with flowers surrounding her and an eerie, moonlit background that allows for a feeling of nostalgia for the days long past. 8eeb4e9f32 34
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