ART AND RELIGION

Introduction • Works of art inspired by beliefs express things that cannot

be seen

• Spirituality

– Our sense of being connected to others, our awareness of mind and body, and the desire to understand the meaning of life and the world

• Four broad categories of spiritual art discussed in this chapter:

– Artworks that incorporate specific gods or deities

– Works that refer to the spirits of the natural or ancestral world

– Works that reflect communication with the spiritual world

– Places that have sacred character

Deities

• Stories of religious figures or deities – Explain their importance

– Make them more accessible and memorable

• Many different religions depict divine figures chronicled in: – Greek mythology

– Jewish Torah

– Oral Tradition

– Christian Bible

– Buddhist scripture

– Hindu Narratives

WORSHIP SPACES

• What affects the nature of the space?

• Why would it change over the years?

• What elements might be consistent through different faiths?

• What elements would be different?

• Who determines the shape?

4.30 Altar 4, La Venta, c. 800 BCE. Basalt, 59¼” high. Parque Museo La Venta, Villahermosa,Tabasco, Mexico

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields

PART 4

THEMES

Chapter 4.2 Spirituality and Art

Altar 4, La Venta

• Olmec leaders sat on “altars,” or thrones, during public ceremonies

– Belief that leaders could travel from one world to another

• Altar 4: a ruler on the threshold of a cave

– Emergence of the man represents the birth of mankind

– He holds a rope that wraps the cave and secures prisoners

• They will be sacrificed to appease the gods

– Caves:

• Important in Olmec creation mythology, symbolic of the womb

• Access point to another world

• Seen as a living entity with eyes, a nose, and teeth

4.31 Rhinoceros, bird-headed man, and disemboweled bison, c. 15000–13000 BCE. Paint on limestone. Lascaux Caves, Dordogne,

France

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields

PART 4

THEMES

Chapter 4.2 Spirituality and Art

Rhinoceros, bird-headed man, and

disemboweled bison, Lascaux Caves

• Paleolithic

• Bird-headed man

– Rare example of a human figure in prehistoric art

– Likely a shaman

• Shamans served as intermediaries between the spiritual world and the world of humans

• They used magic to heal or control events

– The man may be shown here in a shamanic trance, in the process of transforming into a bird or deity

• This painting probably served a ritual function

Sacred Places

• Sacred places restore a person’s soul

– Can be individual or communal

– Allow us to feel connected and at peace

• Some artists and architects mark sacred places

– Places of personal retreat

– Communal worship

– Connected to nature, religion, or community

4.32a Hall of the Bulls. Plan of Lascaux Caves, Dordogne, France

4.32b Hall of the Bulls. Pigment on limestone rock. Lascaux Caves

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields

PART 4

THEMES

Chapter 4.2 Spirituality and Art

What Makes a Place Sacred?

Hall of the Bulls, Lascaux Caves

• Section of the cave near the entrance

– Heavily painted with depictions of various animals

– Hall of the Bulls • Many detailed, realistic images

• Overlapping pictures indicate that the cave was repeatedly visited by multiple generations of prehistoric people

• Repeated use of the same space suggests that the caves were important and even sacred to those living in the area

• The images likely served several functions

– Told a story

– Taught hunting techniques

– Represented shamanistic practices (see 4.31)

Ancient Near East: Ziggurat

• ZIGGURAT=Sacred Mountain

• Mountains were seen as the place where bridge heaven and earth.

• Rulers often received requests and instructions from gods on where and how to construct ziggurats.

• Was a place for the union between mortals and gods.

• This was the center of the religious, political and social in the city

• Corners of temple oriented on cardinal compass points

White Temple. Uruk. C 3500-3000BCE. Stone and Polished Brick.

2.9 Plan of the White Temple

Nanna ziggurat, Ur –Nammu (southeast Iraq) 2100-2050 BCE

ANCIENT GREECE

• MAN IS THE MEASURE OF ALL THINGS: Gods had human foibles

• GODS (Pantheon) • nature worship evolved into personification • Gods assumed human forms • had same aspects as humans • Temples: shrines to protect the statue of the god • Ceremonies outside • Sculpture as defining the function • Building conceived as a sculpture., ‘possessing power of

sculpture to evoke human response’ • Note placement. All cities had acropolis above the city

Plan of Sanctuary at Delphi

Temple of Zeus at Olympia (reconstruction)

Cult statue from Temple of Zeus at Olympia. By Phidias. 40’, chryselephantine.

•Altar of Athena (far left)

•Erectheum (left back)

•Parthenon (Temple of Athena Parthenos)

•Armory (right middle)

•Sanctuary of Artemis

•Propylaia

•Temple of Athena Nike

Reconstruction of the Parthenon

Athena Parthenos. (reconstruction) after .Phidias. (originally 40’. Gold and ivory over wood)

East Pediment Drawing: Birth of Athena from Head of Zeus

East Pediment Sculpture: Parthenon

5.32 MEtope Sculpture: Lapith and Centuar from south metope of Parthenon

5.55 Equestrian Group from North Frieze

Roman Temples:

• Worship involved animal sacrifice

• Temples in midst of life: on roads, in towns, etc.

• They were painted with bright frescoes

7.24 Temple of Portunus aka Fortuna Virilis. Rome. 2nd C. BCE

7.26 Temple of the Sibyl. Tivoli. Early 1st C. BCE

PANTHEON: ROME

• Means: ‘All the Gods’

• space used for political function: Hadrian made decrees from

• Built as Roman Temple, converted to Catholic church

7.28 Pantheon. Rome. CE 117-125

Interior and Plan of Pantheon

Judaism

Major Holy Days

• Yom Kippur: Day of Atonement

• Rosh Hashanah : new year

• Hannukah: Festival of Rededication

• Pesach (Feast of Passover)

• Barmitzvah

• 12 Tribes

• Torah: : the inspired word of God as told to Moses (means teaching) aka Pentateuch

• G-d exists • G-d is one and unique • G-d is incorporeal • G-d is eternal • Prayer is to be directed to G-d alone and to no other • The words of the prophets are true • Moses' prophecies are true, and Moses was the greatest of the prophets • The Written Torah (first 5 books of the Bible) and Oral Torah (teachings

now contained in the Talmud and other writings) were given to Moses • There will be no other Torah • G-d knows the thoughts and deeds of men • G-d will reward the good and punish the wicked • The Messiah will come • The dead will be resurrected

Budapest

Jerusalem Synagogue, Prague

Green Synagogue. Illinois

Krakow

Warsaw

Edinburgh

Great Synagogue in Dohány Street, Budapest,

Portugal. 1671

Torah from this temple

Moorish Synagogue. Toledo, Spain. Converted to a church in 15th C.

EARLY CHRISTIAN/BYZANTINE

• Emphasis on congregational worship • Basilica form • Nave • Aisles • Clerestory • Narthex • Transcept • Atrium • Tradition for churches built over martyr sites.

Christus-Sol. From Christian Mausoleum of the Julii. St. Peter’s necropolis. Rome mid 3rd C. Vault Mosaic.

ICONOGRAPHY

4.33a Plan and section (through main gallery of oldest region) of catacomb of Callixtus, 2nd century CE, Rome, Italy

4.33b Catacombs of Priscilla, 2nd and 3rd centuries CE, Via Salaria, Rome, Italy

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields

PART 4

THEMES

Chapter 4.2 Spirituality and Art

What Makes a Place Sacred?

Catacombs of Priscilla, Rome

• The catacombs in Rome

– Series of underground tunnels

– Measure between 60 and 90 miles in length

– Contain the remains of nearly 4 million people

– Sacred space for pagans, Jews, and Christians

• Praying figure in the catacombs of Priscilla

– Fresco painting

– Familiar to all religions

• But interpreted differently by each one

• Could have helped win potential converts to Christianity

8-4 Ptd ceiling of cubiculum in Catacomb of Sts. Peter and Marcellinus

Rome, 4th C.: SITES FOR ART

Old St. Peter’s basilica. Rome. 333-390. interior 368 ft,

FIRST CHURCH IN FORM OF ROMAN STATE BUILDING

Old St. Peter’s Basilica. 320-335 Built over the Circus of Nero (where many Xians martyred) and a cemetary. Had relics and bones. EACH SPACE HAS SPECIFIC USE

•.

9.34 Reconstruction model of St. Gall.

MONASTIC COMMUNITIES COMMON IN BUDDHISM and CHRISTIANTIY.

Galla Placidia, Ravenna. Mausoleum. 425-26.

8.14 Christ as Good Shepherd. Galla Placidia. Ravenna. 425-426.

Byzantine Empire Under Justinian I

8.17 S. Vitale. Ravenna. 540-547

8.19 Interior of S. Vitale, east toward the apse. Ravenna.

8.22 Apse Mosaic, S. Vitale, Ravenna. C. 547

8.23 Court of Justinian. Apse mosaic. S. Vitale, Ravenna. 8’8” x 12’

8.24 Court of Theodora, apse mosaic.

8.28 Hagia Sophia, Constantinople (Istanbul) completed 537.

CONVERSION OF SPACES. TRANSFORMATION BETWEEN RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS

Virgin and Child Enthroned. Katholikon. Hosios, Loukas, Greece. 1020

Crucifixion. Katholikon. Hosios, Loukas, Greece. 1020

PAntokrator. Abbey church, Monreale, Palermo. Before 1883.

Christ, deeis mosaic (det) from Hagia Sophia. 13th C. deeis: Christ flanked by Virgin and Baptist.

ROMAN CATHOLIC: ROMANESQUE THROUGH BAROQUE

• Western European tradition

• Canonical Hours: Vigil, Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sect, None, Vespers, Compline

• These taken from Jewish tradition

Giselbertus, Last Judgement. West Portal Tympanum, Autun. Romanesque

10.27 detail showing pilgrims

10.26 detail showing weighing of souls

Chartres, Notre Dame Cathedral. 12th-13th C.

NOTRE DAME=OUR LADY Chartres owned tunic of Virgin Mary

Plan and Perspective of Chartres

Nave Chartres.

11.25 Rose Window and Lancets. North transept. Chartres.

The Notion of Stained Glass Windows: Light and Color

Detail of Windows from Chartres.

carpenter’s window

det. Rose window

‘Royal Portal’ West façade. Chartres.

Door Jamb Figures. West façade . Kings and Queens of Old Testament.

11.45-6 Salisbury Cathedral. 1220.

11.49 Siena Cathedral. 1284-1299

14.08 Michelangelo’s plan for New St. Peter’s. 1546.

14.9 N.S.P.’s as built by Maderno according to Michelangelo’s drawings 1606-16

14.10 New St. Peter’s.

14.20 Sistine Chapel. 1508-12

14.21 overview (diff. than book)

14.27 Michelangelo. Last Judgment. On altar wall of Sistine Chapel. 1534-41

15.6 Veronese. Last Supper (Christ in the House of Levi). 1573

RELGIOUS LEADERS AND EDUCATORS OVERSEE IMAGERY OR LACK THEREOF

17.2-3 BErnini. Aerial view of colonnade and piazza of St. Peter’s Rome.

SYMBOLIC SPACES

17.1 Bernini. Baldacchino. St. Peter’s, 1624-33. Gilded

bronze. Approx 95’.

17.20 Bernini. Cornaro Chapel. 1645-52

(anonymous ptg. Illustrating the chapel)

ART FOR RELIGIOUS MOTIVATION

17.21 Bernini. Ecstasy of St. Teresa. Cornaro

Chapel, Sta Maria della Vittoria. 1645-52.

Marble. 11’6”

Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts, Debra J. DeWitte, Ralph M. Larmann, M. Kathryn Shields

PART 4

THEMES

Chapter 4.2 Spirituality and Art

Gianlorenzo Bernini,

The Ecstasy of St. Teresa

• Funerary monument for the Cornaro family in Rome

• Ecstasy of St. Teresa

– St. Teresa had a vision that she was pierced by an angel’s arrow and infused with divine love

– Theatrically set in the clouds, dramatic light effects

• Typical of the Italian Baroque style

– Bernini skillfully depicted a variety of textures

– Combination of realistic details and exaggerated devotion

• Supports the Catholic Church’s ideas

– Individuals should form a personal relationship with Christ