<P> The number of decorative treatments of religious subjects declined sharply, as did "unbecomingly or confusedly arranged" Mannerist pieces, as a number of books, notably by the Flemish theologian Molanus, Saint Charles Borromeo and Cardinal Gabriele Paleotti, and instructions by local bishops, amplified the decrees, often going into minute detail on what was acceptable . Many traditional iconographies considered without adequate scriptural foundation were in effect prohibited, as was any inclusion of classical pagan elements in religious art, and almost all nudity, including that of the infant Jesus . According to the great medievalist Émile Mâle, this was "the death of medieval art". </P> <P> While Protestants largely removed public art from religion and Protestant societies moved towards more "secular" forms of art which might be said to glorify God through the portrayal of the "natural beauty of His creation and by depicting people who were created in His image", Counter-Reformation Catholic church continued to encourage religious art, but insisted it was strictly religious in content, glorifying God and Catholic traditions, including the sacraments and the saints . </P> <P> Sydney Joseph Freedberg, who invented the term Counter-Maniera, cautions against connecting this more austere style in religious painting, which spread from Rome from about 1550, too directly with the decrees of Trent, as it pre-dates these by several years . He describes the decrees as "a codifying and official sanction of a temper that had come to be conspicuous in Roman culture". </P> <P> Scipione Pulzone's (1550--1598) painting of the Lamentation which was commissioned for the Church of the Gesù in 1589 is a Counter-Maniera work that gives a clear demonstration of what the holy council was striving for in the new style of religious art . With the focus of the painting giving direct attention to the crucifixion of Christ, it complies with the religious content of the council and shows the story of the passion while keeping Christ in the image of the ideal human . </P>

The council of trent did not advise artists to