Sacred art  

From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

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Sacred art is imagery intended to uplift the mind to the spiritual. It can be an object to be venerated not for what it is but for what it represents; Roman Catholics are taught that such venerated objects are more properly called sacramentals. Some Christians are still taught to regard all non-Christian cult images as "idols" (see idolatry) that are worshipped in and of themselves, and do not consider them as "sacred art".

Christian European sacred art

Sandro Botticelli's Berliner Madonna depicting the Virgin Mary holding her child, Jesus commissioned by the Catholic Church during the Renaissance. It was during this time that Michelangelo Buonarroti painted the Sistine Chapel and carved the famous Pietà, Gianlorenzo Bernini created the massive columns in St. Peter's Basilica, and Leonardo da Vinci painted the Last Supper.

Most Christian art is allusive, or built around themes familiar to the intended observer. One of the most common Christian themes is that of the Virgin Mary holding the infant Jesus. Another is that of Christ on the Cross. For the benefit of the illiterate, an elaborate iconographic system developed to conclusively identify scenes: Saint Agnes depicted with a lamb, Saint Peter with keys, Saint Patrick with a shamrock. Each saint holds or is associated with attributes and symbols in sacred art.

The genre of sacred art has lost much of its vigor since the Renaissance, but the themes are still popular, a 20th century example being Salvador Dalí's Crucifixion or the mystical image of Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus).[1]. After the Second World War some fine work was presented by major French artists following the impuls of Father Marie-Alain Couturier: the Vence Chapel, the Église Notre-Dame de Toute Grâce du Plateau d'Assy, the Église du Sacré Cœur d'Audincourt see: Jean René Bazaine.

See also Madonna and Child, Icon, Images of Jesus