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During the 1500's, what we know now as the Roman Catholic Church was very powerful. Not just spiritually. Politically and culturally it had a huge affect on peoples lives, and of course the art they were making.
The church was known for commissioning artist to create fantastical pieces that depicted important moments of the bible in a grand, beautiful fashion.

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Martin Luther 1500's priest and revolutionary 

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However in 1517, a book by Martin Luther would be published called 'Die 95 Theses'. It would spark a religious reform movement known now as the Protestant Reformation,
That for the next 100+ years, would strip the Roman Catholic Church of it's colossal, restricting presence in the lives of the people.
It would present new ideas about the ways people could worship God, free of the corrupt Indulgence system (The exchange of money for pardons of temporal punishment, or reductions of time believed to be spent in purgatory.)  that was common place for the church at the time.

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The Incredulity of Saint Thomas (Caravaggio) 1601

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While the people of the 1500's-1600's began to gravitate towards stylized and dramatic, Mannerism (An exaggerated form of High Renaissance.)   like artwork.
The Roman Catholic Church outwardly opposed this style of art for their commissions of religious artwork.
Demanding all paintings and sculptures in church contexts depict their subjects with decorum (Conforming to conventional standards.)

However, this didn't stop many famous Baroque artists from pushing the limits of stylistic airs. Creating an almost populist style of art later to be known as Baroque. That favored chiaroscuro values and dramatic, dark subjects.

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Important figures of the Baroque movement were known for being contentious, and creating artwork that went against what the church wanted.

Caravaggio is now the most famous Baroque artist, but in his time his art was often rejected, and sparked many conversations for its intense violence and unconventional depictions of religious commissions.  For example 'St. Matthew and the Angel'. Which was created for the Contarelli Chapel in Rome, but was not accepted due to its vision of St. Matthew as a peasant with dirty feet.  And replaced with 'The Inspiration of St. Matthew.' a more traditional version of the scene

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St. Matthew and the Angel (Caravaggio) 1602

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The Decent From The Cross (Rembrandt) 1634

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Or in Rembrandts 'The Decent From The Cross'.
A shadowy representation of what was previously a bright and fantastically sad scene when made by artists prior.
But in Rembrandts, there is no brightness. Only enough to luminate the decent in a beautifully stylistic way.
However its unique portrayal doesn't come from the lighting alone. The amount of people watching is fairly different from other renditions, which only have a few figures in horror, all with great focus and clarity.
But in this 1634 baroque painting, we see many horrified civilians all in action, and unequally lit and focused upon. Making the whole thing so much more real and grounded in fear.

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Judith Beheading Holofernes (Caravaggio) 1598

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Or in this painting 'Judith Beheading Holofernes'.
Which is a depiction of the famous biblical story of seduction. Where Judith saves her people from the tyrant clutches of the general Holofernes.
Caravaggio prefers to showcase the actual beheading in a incredibly melodramatic way, which wasn't seen prior.

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The Late 1500's and early 1600's marked a huge turning point for what we know as Catholicism today.
Brand new ideas, practices and disciples were made during this time and with it a new style of art that favored the unconventional and had much to say about said newly formed ideas about worship and the church.
Baroques taboo religious influence created an art movement that was unlike any other.
Overly dramatic and dark it represented an equally dramatic and dark time for the Roman Catholic Church, and a pivotal moment for their followers.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baroque_painting

https://www.history.com/news/most-controversial-art-in-history

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/renaissance-reformation/reformation-counterreformation/beginner-guide-reforrmation/a/the-protestant-reformation

https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/protestant-reformation/#:~:text=The%20Protestant%20Reformation%20was%20a,due%20to%20differences%20in%20doctrine

https://www.theartstory.org/movement/baroque-art-and-architecture/

https://www.caravaggio.org/judith-beheading-holofernes.jsp

https://www.google.com/search?q=The+Descent+from+the+Cross+&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjT0rC3xcP3AhV4rWoFHRIQDjUQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=The+Descent+from+the+Cross+&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDIECAAQHjIECAAQGDIECAAQGDIECAAQGFD-CVj-CWCBFWgAcAB4AIABjAGIAdoBkgEDMS4xmAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWfAAQE&sclient=img&ei=VjxxYtPPE_jaqtsPkqC4qAM&bih=625&biw=1349&rlz=1C1GCEB_enUS968US968&hl=en&surl=1&safe=active&ssui=on