Michael A.

Fuentes Period 2 Contextualization Exam Essay

During St. Ignatius life many things were evolving around him. From the discovery of the new world to the peak of the renaissance in Europe. Moreover, an artwork that exemplifies St. Ignatius conversion is the piece by Juan de Flandes of St. Michael the Archangel and St. Francis of Assisi. In this piece I will illustrate how St. Michael the Archangel represents Ignatius before his conversion and St. Francis of Assisi symbolizes his view on life after his conversion. Throughout this paper the concepts of intellectual, moral and religious conversions will be discussed. Furthermore, Juan de Flandes painted this piece on September of 1505. The piece is said to be a part of an elaborate altarpiece for the chapel of the University of Salamanca. Flandes does a phenomenal job of combining sculpture with painting while emphasizing the presence of his figures with his use of golden niches. His piece demonstrates his ability to adopt Northern Renaissance styles for the enjoyment of his Spanish noblemen clients. In addition, the piece depicts St. Michael the Archangel slaying the dragon on the left while St. Francis of Assisi preaching on the right with, biblically significant, holes in his hands, feet, and ribs. The religious significance is represented in how St. Michael the Archangel defeated evil and how St. Francis of Assisi gave up all of his wealth and fortunes to be one with the poor like Jesus. As previously mentioned this artwork will be used to explain St. Ignatius conversion development throughout his life.

Moreover, St. Michael the Archangel represents St. Ignatius as a young soldier, whose objective in life was to fight for the nobility of Spain. Whereas, St. Francis of Assisi represents a relaxed, contemplatively thinking Ignatius after he broke his leg in battle and recovered in the hospital. During his recovery period St. Ignatius went through the following three conversions which changed his life forever. He first went through an intellectual conversion which can be defined as the radical change in ones intellectual horizon to a process of experiencing, understanding, judging and believing. This conversion took place when he began to read about the lives of the saints and learn more about individuals who gave their lives for Christ. The second conversion he went through was a moral conversion which is the radical change for ones criteria on decision making from satisfactions to values. This second conversion took place with his creation of the Society of Jesus. The societys objection was to reform the Church from within, with its constitution they set a framework of a society based on morality and values. Third is a religious conversion which is being grasped by ultimate concern. Self-surrendering without conditions, qualifications, or reservations. St. Ignatius exemplifies this conversion through the spiritual exercises where he reflects and contemplates, consequently becoming closer with the Holy Spirit. (Conversion: 235) Overall, Juan de Flandes piece of St. Michael the Archangel and St. Francis of Assisi is an example of a Renaissance piece that can be used to depict the life of St. Ignatius. Through his detailed representation of St. Michael the Archangel slaying the dragon and St. Francis through the use of gold niches the artist truly brings this artwork to life. As mentioned above this piece represents the conversion process St. Ignatius took and how the lives of these two saints along with others greatly affected him during this period of his life.