Art and Religion

What is Religion?

“A religion is a system of symbols which acts to establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods in men by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and clothing those conceptions with such an aura of factuality that the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic.” –Clifforf Geertz“Religion is that system of

activities and beliefs directed toward that which is perceived to be of sacred value and transforming power.” -James Livingston

What is Art?

-Art is universal. Many individuals can relate to a single piece of art work.

-It also serves as a form of communication between individuals

-Art is evident within religion. It is conveyed through the paintings of various religious figures. It is also depicted through the architecture of churches and the stained glass windows

The halo around the mother and child’s head represents innocence. This painting can also be related the Christian ideal of Mary and Jesus.

By: Bernandino Jacopi Butinone

The Last SupperThe Last Supper is a depiction of Jesus and the disciples. This related to the Catholic religion of the breaking of bread and wine.

By: Leonardo De Vinci

The Way of the Cross

• This painting depicts the Crucifixion of Christ. The amount of people depicts the chaos that day. The colors are dark and gray displaying emotions of sadness, mourning and anger.

By: Giovanni Battista

Art has always been a handmaiden of religion.

Most of the world’s religions have used the arts to aid in worship, to instruct, to inspire feelings of devotion, and to impress and convert non – believers.

The Christian Church commissioned craftsmen to tell the stories about Christ and the saints in pictures, usually in mosaics, murals, and stained-glass windows in churches.

. It also resorted to the presentation of tableaux and plays to preach and teach. . It also resorted to the presentation of tableaux and plays to preach and teach. . It also resorted to the presentation of tableaux and plays to preach and teach. . It also resorted to the presentation of tableaux and plays to preach and teach.

It also resorted to the presentation of tableaux and plays to preach and teach.

. It also resorted to the presentation of tableaux and plays to preach and teach.

Miriam College Chapel

Saint Claire Church

Religion

• Some religions expressly forbid the representation of divinity as human beings or human forms, although they allow the use of some signs or symbols in their place.

• Others religions have taught that a god may sometimes assume human or other visible forms.

For example:

Ancient Egyptians

Gods of Ancient african tribes

Ibeji

Bulol or Rice God

Shiva

Symbols of Buddha

• In the early Christian world, representations of divinity were also symbolic. There were precise conventions in rendering them. For example, the four

evangelists were represented in animal forms:

Religion and Art: Analysis

• Art was often used to provide visual images of gods and goddesses.

• Sculpture was a large component of ancient Greek art.

• Greek gods and goddesses were usually created with human-like images.

• Most of the art we find from ancient Egypt deals with Egyptian religious beliefs about death and the afterlife. Egyptian tombs can be found filled with artwork depicting the deceased, Egyptian gods and goddesses, and scenes from the afterlife.

Egyptian Tomb Painting

Laocoon Group

The Ancient World

Middle Ages: Christian Art

• The major religion of Western Civilization during the Middle Ages was Christianity.

• The Middle Ages were a glorious time for the Christian Church.

•The Church was gaining in political power and wealth. Its church buildings were opulent and richly decorated, and its priests wore gold and jewels.

Demons Dragging One Damned

Peter Receives the Keys to the Kingdom

The Renaissance:• The Renaissance, a great cultural

movement that began in Italy, started in early 1300s and ended finally around 1600.

• The Renaissance was an age of discovery• Renaissance thinkers in Northern Europe

sought to apply humanistic methods to the study of Christianity

• Scholars were concerned with editing religious texts, such as the Bible, while artists were concerned with stressing the importance and beauty of the human body in their paintings.

• the Renaissance art portrayed realistic figures in natural settings. Thus, the painters strayed from religion.

The Renaissance:

• According to Fifty Centuries of Art, the great achievements of the Renaissance were the discovery of the world and the discovery of man. Important artist of this period were Michelangelo, Raphael, and Leonardo da Vinci.

The Holy Family

The School of Athens

The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries:

Baroque• Known as the "Age of Enlightenment" or the

time of "the Scientific Revolution.“• Baroque, which is French for "odd" or "irregular," is a difficult style to define because it reflects religious ecstasy and worldly sensuality, credulity and rationalism, along with violence and respect for order. • With the dilution of religious beliefs, the focus

of art shifted from religious subjects to other aspects of life.

• Three elements in the cultural life of western Europe helped form the baroque style. First, artists were rebelling against Renaissance art. Second, many European rulers wanted an art style to glorify their reign. Finally, a movement called the "Counter Reformation" stirred a sense of religious enthusiasm in many parts of Europe.

David Presenting the Head of Goliath to Saul Samson and

Delilah

The Modern World, 1800-1945

• During this period, men and women had begun looking at sacred texts not as scripture, but writings by humans trying to understand their gods.

• This created great uncertainty not only in religion, but also in the way artists portrayed their ideas.

• Modern World Art, which was centered primarily in France, was characterized by such periods as Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Realism, Fauvism and Cubism.

• Modern World Art is most often defined by styles that reject traditionally accepted forms and emphasize individual experimentation and sensibility. Therefore, the period known as Modern World Art came about as a direct response to the rebellion and uncertainty felt toward religion and war between 1800 and 1945.

The Temptation of Saint Anthony

L.H.O.O.Q.

SOURCES:

http://people.usd.edu/~clehmann/HWB/hwb_a/wcivproj.htm

http://www.slideshare.net/timnik16/art-and-religion-1543475

Ortiz, Erestain, Guillermo, Montano, Pillar, Art: Perception and Appreciation, 1976

End of report…Thank you!!

Reported by:

Tena, Mary JoycePalma, Arra MaeLora, Joyce VannesaDel Rosario, FergiePaderayon, KatrinaEscalona, PortiaBungay, Judy Lyzl