In many instances, Michael is shown in Roman military clothing standing atop Satan, who falls face forward toward the ground. Michael as a defender of the faith were common across the Spanish Americas. In Europe, images of angels as protectors became more common during the Counter Reformation (the Catholic Church’s response to the Protestant Reformation) as did other depictions of saints who defended the Christian faith from supposed heretics, infidels, and invaders.īesides images showing guardian angels, another popular subject was St. Even with the perceived threats to Catholicism, the Catholic Church remained tremendously powerful and exerted its influence across the globe. The powerful Ottoman Empire continued to be cause for concern among many European Christians as well the Ottomans represented a powerful Muslim empire and had already defeated the Byzantine Empire (among others). For much of the next century, the threat of Protestantism loomed large, which caused reforms in the Catholic Church that were decided at the Council of Trent which convened between 1545–63. To begin, about a hundred years earlier (as the invasion and colonization of the Americas was still in its early phase in the early sixteenth century) the Catholic Church split after the Protestant Reformation erupted in northern Europe. Painted around 1615, the subject of Juárez’s painting can be understood in relation to several important historical events. The theme of protection, or more accurately, protection of Christians and the Christian faith, was common in the Spanish viceroyalties of New Spain and Peru (and eventually the viceroyalties of New Granada and Río de la Plata).
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