Icons throughout history has hold many different meanings whether sacred or for everyday lifestyle. Each culture practice different ideologies that come with an array of different interpretations. Paintings, sculptures and craftworks are examples of different medium used to portray icons but yet could hold the same significance as the other. In Christ the Savior of Souls, early 14 century of the Saint clement church, the artist use a highly spiritual figure as the subject, placed in the center fold, using contrasting colors to convey its importance to the people who come in its presence and to show the divinity of the figure itself. Portraying a similar trend, the Buddha seated on lion throne from 2nd century C.E. India, poses a same significance of a highly spiritual human being, proceeding over its followers but through an entirely different form of art. These two forms hold great significance to both their follower’s spirituality and just ordinary folks alike. Often placed in a scared place deemed by their culture, it stands as a relics and reminder of the ideology they choose to follow.
Christ the Savior of Souls and Buddha seated holds many similarities. These two icons portrays two leaders of a spiritual realm or religion; Christ the head of Christianity and Buddha the head of Buddhism. Christ, the center piece of the painting is portrayed in a divine state, His garment is in vibrant colors and its folds are strictly Byzantine with its schematizing look. Christ holding the bible in one hand while blessing the faithful with the right hand gesture, similar to the Buddha, who’s seated in the ordained yogic pose, also flashing the no fear hand gesture and the wheel of law situated in the palm and on the sole of his feet. This s...
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...ting such as Christ are not idols that followers worship but are rather a sacred reminders of him that people reminiscence on as the savior, comparing with Buddhism where they worship the statues and nurture the statue as if a human being.
Christ the Savior of Souls and Buddha seated on lion throne are similar in ways how each piece has the same visual makeup and are representing a spiritual leader in a divine manner. Two very distinct and different culture having similar motifs yet the people who follow, have contrasting ideology. Throughout time many cultures often seek to earlier cultures for inspiration to make their work more interesting and appealing to their audience. These two pieces are great example of mixing different periodic styles to make a piece more visually interesting and not just focusing on the visual side but the underlining meaning of it.
The Buddha was and is an important figure in several different cultures, and his influence has spread over large areas. Across these different cultures, many forms of art portrayed him in different ways. In Japan, one of the Buddha’s titles stood out as the “Amida Buddha.” The statue that this paper will be detailing portrays “Amida, the Buddha of Infinite Light” (“Amida”). The statue is located in the Dayton Art Institute’s Japanese Art Gallery 105 with the acquisition number 1935.1. Created in the thirteenth century during the Kamakura period, this statue stands out in the Dayton Art Institute as a prominent Buddha figure. It is made of wood with lacquer and gilt, and it was built to be approximately the size of a normal person.
The lotus flowers surround Buddha and he also is sitting on a giant one. They are symbols that the Buddha is awakened almost as a sign of rebirth. The lotus flowers meaning in Buddhism means rising above everything and achieve enlightenment. There are lotus flowers that are not yet open representing that not all are yet enlightened and the lotuses that are fully bloomed representing full-enlightenment and self-awareness. Buddha sits in front of the Bodhi tree which literally means awakening or enlightenment. Behind the tree is a full moon and in Buddhism has a great significance. The Buddha was born on a full moon day and his enlightenment was also during a full moon. The Buddha also has earth touching mudra. Mudra is the religious hand gestures and earth touching is “calling the earth to witness”. These concepts go back to the Four Noble Truths. They are the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering, and the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering. The fist noble truth is represented by the temptresses and the flaming arrows sent from Mara. After the temptresses did not seduce Buddha Mara sent flaming arrows from all directions towards the Buddha representing that all of life’s sufferings. This artwork shows the second noble truth by Buddha avoiding the temptresses that Mara sent and in this way Buddha avoided having cravings or desires. By not submitting to those desires and cravings Buddha realized that this is the ending all suffering is to remove all desire, ill will and ignorance therefore completing the third noble truth. The fourth noble truth is represented by the weight of the Buddha in the artwork showing Buddha not overweight and not starving but in the middle showing him living The Middle Path. When artists get to work responding and expressing, whether or not also to urge a point,
One similarity between Giotto's and Cimabue's painting are that they show Madonna sitting on a throne with Jesus on her left side. Madonna and Jesus are also in the upper center of the painting surrounded by prophets and angels. The centers of paintings during the time were usually reserved for the Virgin Mary or Christ. (7) In both pieces, the angels and prophets are split equally on both sides of the paintings. Sometimes artists would place the same number of figures on one both sides, so as not to disturb the compositional consistency. This fundamental of symmetry had to be maintained in Byzantine art.
The content of this painting represents a Christian worldview because of all the symbolism inside the piece. The most predominant image in this painting is the light house, which is also the focal point of the piece. The viewers eyes are first drawn t the clouds in the top right corner of the painter before following the ocean waves to the shore that lead to the light house. A light house has always been a symbol of guidance as it is a beacon that guides sailors safely back to shore. Kinkade uses the light house in this painting to symbolize the love of God. The light house is shining brightly in his picture even though it’s not dark yet. In the same way God will always be a light to those to wish to follow Him. God will always lead us back to him and be a guide for our live. He will make sure that we always survive temptations. As the light house guides the ships out of the storm, God will always guide his people to the promise land.
Both of these pieces of art have much in common. Their functions are almost identical. Both were used to mark burial sites and to honor the deceased buried there. The body language of both the pieces’ figures are similar, with one seated and several others standing around them. Neither has color, but unlike the grave stele, the funerary banquet does show some degree of emotion. The figures in the banquet scene have slight smiles. These pieces played an important role in their times, honoring those who had passed on to the afterlife. For both of these people, it was important to memorialize them very similar to our practices today.
As I walked into the first gallery, I saw a wood sculpture that stood in the center of the room. This carving depicted “the crucified Christ, flanked by the Virgin Mary and St. John the Evangelist with Angels holding instruments of the Passion”. It was painted oak and very appealing to the eye. It stood approximately 15 feet in the air. The origin of this sculpture is unknown, but it was found in a Belgium church. This kind of sculpture usually stood at the entrance or at the center of the alter in the church facing the congregation. This image of the suffering Christ relates to the Christian ideas of suffering and Christ’s salvation of all mankind.
The Book Cover for the Lindau Gospels is rectangular in shape, it features a cross in the center with a depiction of Christ being crucified on it. This is the area of the work that your eyes are immediately drawn to. This work uses hierarchy of scale, the act of making important figures much larger than other figures, when depicting Christ to show that he is important. Implementing this technique also draws all of your attention to the largest figure, Christ. The body of Christ is depicted realistically and youthfully. His body fills the majority of empty space in the lower part of the cross but, the cross is slightly bigger than Christ. However, Christ’s face lacks a great amount of detail and he is shown with a solemn facial expression with his eyes shut. Around his head is a halo made of metalwork and jewels. In the upper part of the cross, the portion that the body of Christ does not fill, there is a short inscription and two small figures that are conformed into a circular shape. The small figures are depictions of the sun and the moon.
The princely bearing sculpture of the Bodhisattva is distinguished by its form and shape of its body, high class jewels, and rich garments worn. The relaxed pose represents the Bodhisattva’s connection with mankind, through compassion, and depicts that it has devoted itself to helping further the spiritual progress of others to attain Enlightenment. By postponing its own achievement of nirvana and buddhahood, it emphasis the Bodhisattva’s peaceful and compassionate state of
... the way that the artwork is resembled in the religious background of the gospel but reconstructed in to a celebrating impression. Throughout the fresco painting it depicts the myth of the Christ’s three fold temptations relating back to the article that “distinction between fresco and panel painting is sharp, and that painters are seen as competitors amongst themselves discriminating also, between the difference in genuine attempts in being better then the other.” Baxandall, “Conditions of Trade,” 26. in relation, the painting concerns the painter’s conscious response to picture trade, and the non-isolation in pictorial interests.
The representation of divinity was clearly defined in Christ in Majesty with Symbols of the Four Evangelists through its subject matter, technique, and style. Christ acts as the focal point, but the artist also used different subjects from the Old and New Testament to decorate the apse. Unlike the mosaics in the apse of Byzantine churches, the artist employed the technique of classical fresco painting. The artist also applied decoration to the figures with the hierarchy of scale, and through the geometric style in the drapery instead of maintaining a sense of realism.
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.
These icons are venerated, but veneration comes from the one they represent. Icons can be kissed, and awaited healing, and are venerated because they represent Christ, the Virgin and the Saints.
People admired the overall concept of the religion and how it brought peace and enlightenment not only into their life, but the people that they are surrounded by. Many different artist began to create what they thought Buddha and how he, being the face of the religion, demonstrates how one can find these qualities in their life. Author of the book History of Chinese Philosophy, Bo Mou states that “....an affectionate concern for the well-being of one 's fellows in the community, society, or a state governed by a wise and virtuous ruler”, when referring to Buddha. In Seated Buddha, it can be mistaken that this sculpture does not posses a lot of great detail, but upon further inspection, it is obvious that it holds very detailed designs. This sculpture has a halo-type structure around the head of the Buddha and he is seated on an elevated surface. I believe that by placing the Buddha on this surface it then emphasizes his holiness and his importance to and in the community. One main feature that the Seated Buddha holds is the fact that he is seated in the lotus position, which ultimately was done to support the concept of peacefulness and calmness. The man has his right-hand open resting on his knee with his palm facing up. By doing this, I believe that the artist is showing the concept of openness and the idea of the Buddha figure being welcoming to others. The Seated Buddha is depicted with his eyes shut and a smile on his face. To me, this is showing that one can be happy regardless of what they can and cannot see and that you do not have to observe something in order to be happy. This can also mean that even if there is bad happening in the world, you can not look at the bad and just help others through their pain, which can then boost the amount of happiness that you
To these individuals, Jesus and Buddha represent the idea of truth to them. One man, Paul Knitter, initially thought that Buddhism was immoral, but has grown to accept its ideas and incorporate them into his Christian ideals. This steams from the idea that we should tolerate other religions, admire them, and help promote the good they bring. There is a concept in Buddhism known as Zen, which is a skill that can enrich one’s own faith. Zen is prayer, and it brings a sort of gratitude and reverence in an individual. Another concept in Buddhism is the idea that everyone is suffering, but a way to relieve this is by decentering of the self, and becoming empty. This emptiness helps people gain life energy, and be closer to God. Additionally, being open allows one to receive love from God and then be able to act as a good member of their religion. Buddhism has the idea that nothing is an individual, and everyone is interconnected, and Christianity claims that it is through compassion and love that we are all connected. It is through this compassion and understanding of connectedness that people can grow to love all sentient beings. Furthermore, the meaning of being human is to wake up to, and open to, the spirit of God that is given to us, and this comes in the form of grace. It is
When the religious art leaks out of the religious community and into the broader world of culture, it is one of the ways the meaning of the art can evolve. This is also an opportunity for the art to draw the world to religion. Moreover, artistic reinterpretation of sacred imagery can help keep religion honest. The church has always been enriched by the tension that comes with diversity in art. Art is communication and effective art communicates effectively to any group at any level.