What is Modernism (Art, Literature and Religion)

What is modernism

What modernism is called, in general terms, the taste or predilection for the newestin contempt of the previous or past.

Etymologically, the term is formed from the word modern, from the Latin modernusmeaning ‘recent’, and the suffix –ismwhich indicates ‘movement’.

In this sense, modernism refers to the artistic movement that took place between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. It was characterized by breaking with the dominant trends of the moment, associated with the past and backwardness, renewing and modernizing human thought in its philosophical, artistic, literary and religious expressions.

modernism in art

The four SeasonsAlfons Mucha, 1896

In art, modernism was an artistic trend of renewal that developed between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. It coincides with the end of the century, a period known as the belle epoque or ‘beautiful era’.

His fundamental intention was to create a new art, which declares freedom and modernity in relation to ancient currents such as realism and impressionism.

As such, artistic modernism was characterized by its inspiration from nature, the use of the curved line, the stylization of forms, sensuality and the use of exotic motifs. It was considered one of the first universal decorative arts.

Depending on the language, it was known by different names: art nouveau in French, jugendstil in German and modern style in English-speaking countries.

Modernism in literature

In literature, modernism was a literary movement that developed mainly between 1890 and 1910, in Latin America and Spain. Originally, the name modernist contained a certain derogatory nuance.

Modernism in literature set out to renew poetry and prose in formal terms. It was characterized by preciousness in the use of language, the search for formal perfection and the use of images of a plastic nature. He emphasized the senses and colors, encompassed a cosmopolitan sensitivity and a taste for the exotic, mythology and eroticism.

The themes he addressed could range from melancholy and boredom with life, to vitality and love. The beginning of modernism is usually noted in the publication of the collection of poems Blue by Rubén Darío (1888).

Modernism in religion

In the Christian religion, modernism is the name given to the religious movement of an intellectual nature that, at the end of the 19th century, proposed bringing the doctrine of Jesus Christ into line with the times in philosophical and scientific terms.

In this sense, he stated that religious content did not have to be read literally, but rather favored a subjective and sentimental interpretation of them, in line with history.

Hence, it was a fundamentally renewing and reforming movement of the institution of the Church, and was seen, at the time, as a heretical movement, since it sought to transform the sacred legacy of Jesus Christ.