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Uses of art in religion
Uses of art in religion
The role of art in christianity
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Art is a medium through which emotions and ideas can be conveyed. Art is appreciated for its aesthetic value, as well as its ability to evoke emotions and both of these functions can be seen in the art displayed in chapels and museums around the world. To create an emotional connection, art in chapels lacks labels so the focus is strictly on the story portrayed in the painting or sculpture. The opposite stands true for art in museums where the purpose is to understand the art therefore labels are placed, however art in museums lacks the emotional connection that is present in chapels. Art is in museums to be understood and to be appreciated for its aesthetic value, art is in chapels for the emotional connection it creates for its visitors.
However, since in a chapel artwork is not merely there for observance it also serves a religious purpose of storytelling, having labels would detract from the emotional connection that the presence of the art evokes in the chapel. The lack of text for instance, allows the viewer to focus on what the purpose of the painting is and what story it tells. Viewing the paintings and sculptures in a chapel instead of a museum brings to life the teachings of Christianity since when the mass is taking place, the verbal message by the priest is supported by textual evidence in the bible and finally visually by the paintings that surround the chapel. However when there is no service taking place the artwork does not serve its intended purpose the visitor feels lost. As someone who is not catholic, the Stations of the Cross paintings for instance were confusing because they had the numerical labels but I didn’t know what their purpose was. When going to a chapel to observe the paintings, and sculptures people who are not familiar with the religion may feel lost and thus might not be able to enjoy the art had it been
When people visit a chapel it is usually to pray or for religious ceremonies, whereas people visit museums to immerse themselves in cultural masterpieces or to simply observe art. Since the main purpose of people visiting the chapel is not to observe art, art is not admired for its characteristics such as delicate brush strokes or color choice, rather it is there to serve the purpose of creating a religious and pious setting for people to be in during their visit. My behavior in the setting of the chapel was different than my behavior in a museum because in a museum the art is open for discussion. if I find a sculpture to be too abstract that is a topic I could discuss and have an opinion on but in a chapel the paintings are not open to discussion since their purpose is to create a pious environment therefore regardless if the viewer finds the painting to be beautiful or not the paintings must still be respected because of where they are. The context of the paintings being placed in a chapel help evoke emotion, respect and allow the visitor to be connected with their surroundings whereas in a museum we focus on understanding the art and not the
Art can mean many different things to many different people and was one of the earliest ways in which man has expressed him or herself to others, whether it was through cave drawings or hieroglyphics. It does not begin or end with just drawing or painting, items typically considered art, or the many other recognized facets of art including architecture, drama, literature, sculpting, and music. My research is based on Vincent van Gogh art, and two art paintings that I choose to study is The Starry Night, 1889, and the second art is The Sower 1888. Vincent van Gogh’s is known for Impressionism, that occurs to us in these times, much more to affirm close links with tradition, and to represent
For majority of people, cruising through a fine arts museum or gallery is nothing short of browsing through a textbook and failing to grasping knowledge of the content. A casual activity and check off ones list of to-dos, sometimes done just for the appearance it offers. Of that majority, one might look at a painting for a long while before connecting the uncommunicated dots from gallery label. But for the small remaining others, a trip to an art exhibition is a journey through emotions and feelings rendered by the artists of the particular works of art. Leo Tolstoy deems this to be the appropriate response to “true art” in his What is Art?, published in 1897. Tolstoy responds to the
Art, by definition, is “something that is created with imagination and skill and that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas or feelings”. Throughout history, one way that art has been used is to reflect a multitude of ideas and beliefs. Christian beliefs and ideas have been portrayed in artwork since the beginning of Christianity, although, it was not always acceptable to do so. The idea of the final judgement is a Christian idea that has been displayed in art repeatedly in a variety of ways. Michelangelo’s fresco the Last Judgment (1536-1541) is a piece that visualizes this idea. Since the time it was finished, this significant piece found in the Sistine Chapel has been continuously critiqued and analyzed. Many Christians struggle to interpret the event of a final judgment after reading it through Scripture. In analyzing Michelangelo’s piece, it is similar difficult to determine what he exactly meant to portray and what the various part of his masterpiece represent exactly. Many have examined this piece and made different regarding what exactly the various figures and objects are supposed to represent. The diverse interpretations of this work further shows the idea that when Christian ideas are reflected through artwork, it is hard to ascertain exactly what an artist intended to demonstrate. In addition, the controversies surrounding this piece represent the idea that when Christian ideas are revealed through art, there is potential for disagreement regarding what should and should not be included in Christian art. Michelangelo’s Last Judgment is just an example of what results when Christianity is brought into art.
When one talks about art there are many aspects that they could be talking about. Art could be seen as a painting but it could also be seen as a sculpture or sketch. When thinking about art the possibilities of how it could be used is endless. Art could be used in interior decorating or designing something extraordinary but it could also be used as self-expression of suppressed feelings that are unknown to the consciousness.
When I think of art being associated with religion, the first thing that comes to mind is symbolism. Symbols are a very important thing in different religions. For example, in Hinduism and Buddhism, mandalas are used as a meditation tool and they symbolize the cosmos. These beautiful creations are symmetric arrangements of circles or concentric shapes. They are often seen as carpet designs, mosaics, and henna tattoos. People have started to realize their beauty more and more recently, but many don’t know that they stem from a religious belief. Another example is within Christianity. Christians use the symbol of the cross extensively in art. There have been many sculptures of crosses or Jesus on the cross made by artists since the beginning of Christianity. Even some Christian churches are in the shape of crosses to reiterate this symbolism. An example of a church like this is the infamous Westminster Abbey. Another way to describe this symbolism is iconography. Iconography in art is basically the repetition of certain images or ideas that are identified with something significant. These icons help someone to identify what the work is associated with. An example of this in Buddhist art is the depiction of buddhas or bodhisattvas. A buddha is a being who has reached enlightenment and a bodhisattva is a being who has reached enlightenment but chooses to stay in ...
“I had seen paintings before, but never so many” thinks Griet as she first enters (Chevalier 17). This is the first step in her awakening of artistic expression. Of course, Griet’s father was a tile painter so she has seen her fair share of paintings but not the amount or kind that is in this home. She sees a “picture of Christ on the Cross […] Christ had thrown his head back in pain, and Mary Magdalene’s eyes were rolling. I lay in bed gingerly […] every detail was fixed in my mind” (Chevalier 30). Griet is not used to seeing works of this intensity, especially religious ones, and is made uncomfortable by it. It depicts Jesus as he is being crucified, which disturbs her. As Brieber explains in his article, “context affects the experience of art, the amount of time people spend on art, and, in turn, that viewing time is related to art experience” (Brieber 7). Art experience is more than just first impressions; it is the amount of time one spends with the artwork and the context one comes from. Griet is at first shocked by the piece because of her background, adding to her art experience. Over time she may develop entirely different perceptions about the art around her, changing her artistic experience and
If I were to ask you what is art, and how can one find it? What would you say? Well if it were me being asked those question, I would simply say that art to me is a form of a picture; a visual painting or model of some design and it could be found all among us. You may define it differently only because art could be defined in many ways. I could simply say that art to me is a form of a picture; a visual painting or model of some design. Well according to an article written by Shelley Esaak, an art history expert she mentioned that art has a way of stimulating different parts of our brains to make us laugh or incite us to riot, with a whole gamut of emotions in between. She also mentioned that art gives us a way to be creative and express ourselves. [1]
We do tend to expect certain things when we enter a place of worship, or peruse an active ministry, and truthfully, when taking in Christian oriented art. There are a couple reoccurring emblems, symbols, well-worn themes, and subjects which have been deemed safe, coming under overuse, carrying the weight of a saltine in the impact it makes on people, including us. While intentions are almost always well meaning, these conventions appear to the secular as a genre of its own in culture and art, quite often ringing with an unsavory note of incompetence. That’s already an unpleasant attribution to a faith that has changed the world, having built the infrastructure of empathy that has survived ages and permeates the social development of our western culture. It speaks to a deeper issue within the Church itself, which is a woeful lack of inspiration.
Matisse’s design takes a new turn into the modern technique, with clean lines and new influence of nature. A tall structure decorated with crescent moons that simultaneously resembles a steeple and a bell tower greets the visiting pilgrim from afar beckoning through sight and sound. Upon approach, the cross at the top of this extremity indicates the building’s religious affiliation. The interior of the chapel is not particularly ornate nor very large, but the white stone walls create an enormous sense of space. The chapel is L-shaped and the altar is placed at an angle where the two portions of the structure meet. This minimalist aesthetic in which the design is reduced to the necessary elements creates an impression of extreme simplicity by enlisting every feature to serve multiple functional and visual purposes, such as the windows that provide light and color to the chapel.
Art through the ages has been a powerful voice for both secular and religious ideas, and the treasury of Christian art should not be relegated to museum viewing. The art should be displayed in the church were it is meant to be. Its richness can be brought to people in schools and adult study groups. This, in turn, can help to bring art up to the level, that the faith deserves. Churches should fill the walls with art to show what happened throughout the bible. Art creates connections and associations between what we see and what we sense happened. Both ritual and art challenge us to take us beyond the immediate, if they are to bring about true insight and transformation in our lives.
Art has been around for centuries, and yet there are still questions that remain about the true meaning of the object. Who truly gets that last say so about what the artist was trying to depict out of the picture, is it the audience or the artist himself? While conducting research online there has been numerous controversial pictures and paintings that came up for various reasons, merely the main three topics were about sex, religion, and politics. Of course, there has been discrepancies on religious pictures, as there are several religions, simply put the one painting with multiple variations to my surprise, the Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci. While in grade school, there are numerous schools that focus on this picture as a simple art project, therefore, reading the different opinion of people and the history behind it, is a world that no person could be prepared to walk through.
Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel painting is one of the greatest pieces of art known to mankind. John Dixon, in his journal “Christology of Michelangelo,” breaks down in his articles the images that Michelangelo painted, he helps us understand why he painted them, in the order that he did, and what they mean. We will also look at how the Renaissance era influenced Michelangelo’s painting perspective on society and culture as described by Kimberly Abruzzo, in her text on “How the Renaissance Changed European Culture and Society.” The Sistine Chapel ceiling painting is one of Michelangelo’s greatest achievements, being a man of culture and influenced by his time, Michelangelo Sistine Chapel paintings reveals the value that his society of the
One must remember when looking at these paintings all of the religious connotations that are represented in these paintings. This is an aspect that has not changed over these times as so many other elements have. Renaissance paintings bring art into a whole new world with the explorations they are achieving. They will bring you into the modern world, but for now we must remember the beauty and underlying meaning in these wonderful pieces.
...ns something when it imitates nature and delivers facts of history or culture. Art is the exploration of what it is to be alive, to be human and struggling to understand one’s role within society and identity in general. By stretching the limits of what is acceptable, the artist questions preconceived ideas of what is ugly and beautiful, important and unimportant. These ideas in art and society are influenced by the emergence of new technologies that expand human understanding. Since technology improves and human understanding is bolstered by these theories (both philosophical and scientific), then art will always have a place. The artist’s place is to criticize and express the tendencies and attitudes of himself and of society. Even if those feelings are marginalized, their expression makes the audience aware of them, and begs them to ask questions of themselves.
At an essential human level there is recognition of beauty and creation, as Plotinus believed. There is potential for subjectivity in art and personal preference, but the principles of universality and the ability to incite emotion set apart fine art. Beauty, in the traditional concept, is irrelevant to fine art. What is beautiful changes and is subjective, so the artist does not have to capture what is beautiful in the traditional sense, but rather an idea or concept that possesses merit. Art may not be beautiful but can still possess meaning, such as Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa.” Though the subject itself may not be objectively pretty, capturing the expression and mystery makes the painting itself valuable and meaningful. Beauty in fine art is not a matter of the physical image as much as the expression, message, or emotion it incites. For that reason, beauty can be frightening or sad, as well as happy and peaceful. In fine art, the artist seeks not to capture the beauty of an object or item, but the feeling that viewing this brings. This is the concept of experiencing what the artist feels and thinks, beyond the physical work