Power and devotion in the art of the Catholic missions in Asia during the Early Modern period

ABSTRACT

During the Early Modern period, European explorers, merchants, and missionaries crossed the oceans across Asia, from the Malabar Coast in India to the Far East. It was a period of unprecedented artistic and cultural transfers between Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas, resulting in a dynamic and intense transmission of knowledge, beliefs, and the circulation of material culture. During the age of discoveries, the consciousness of multipolar political powers, and the development of scientific knowledge, art became instrumental to the formation of mutual perceptions and the representation of the ‘other’, both to the East and West. This paper aims to examine the processes of instrumentalization of art and artistic representation in the expression of political and spiritual utopias and the use of art to display the establishment of a new political and religious order and certainly to eloquently convince others to adopt new beliefs, accept new authorities, and conform to new cultural values. It also discusses how art and religious material culture became a mechanism to project political power, the triumph of the Church and personal devotion.

KEYWORDS:

• Artistic transfers
• Catholic missions
• cultural exchange
• transnational identities

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Glorious fame of the most notable enterprise taken by this virtuous and undefeated Lord the King João, whose purpose lead to conquering by the force of arms such a noble and grand city as it is Ceuta, and in which feat we can highlight four things: a great faith, a great heart, a wonderful order and a fruitful victory.

2. On the exotic perspectives Asians had on Europeans refer to Flores (2009, 2014, 2021).

3. Devotio Moderna, which translates to ‘Modern Devotion’, was a religious movement that emerged in the late Middle Ages, particularly in the Netherlands and Germany, during the 14^th and 15^th centuries. It sought to reform and revitalise the Christian faith by emphasising personal piety, the imitation of Christ, inward devotion, and practical spirituality. The movement was not a formal institution but rather a loose association of individuals and communities inspired by a common spiritual ethos (Engen 1988).