Portraits of commoners and secular subjects disappear. Art revolves around the grand exaltation of Christianity with realism at the forefront. The Protestant reformation started by Martin Luther in 1517 eventually leads to the Counter-Reformation by the Catholic Church. Italy, Spain, Austria and France remain Catholic, while much of northern Europe becomes Protestant. Counter-reformed Italian and Spanish art depicted religious subjects with a new fever.
Oil paint becomes the dominant medium.
Artists work on commission for the Church and Monarchies. The Court artist is employed to work exclusively for the Monarchy. The Baroque period is politically complicated with each monarchy trying to be the most powerful. Large extravagant palaces are constructed and filled with art to show the strength of a particular monarch. In an effort to control the art produced under his reign, he started the Academy of Painting and Sculpture in 1648 .