Sporre Art

In section two, Schaeffer gives eleven perspectives the Christian can use to “consider and evaluate works of art” (Schaeffer 50). The first and most important listed is “A work of art has value in itself” (Schaeffer 50). This is followed by; “Art forms add strength to the world view” (Schaeffer 57), “In all forms of writing it makes a tremendous difference whether

Perceptions of this artwork will have changed over time, as today’s audience is far less religious and would therefore be more likely to see ‘The Last Supper’ as an aesthetic piece of artwork rather than a narrative of a biblical story or connection to God.

At the council, 338 members met to rule on the use of images to depict religious figures and ideas. This assembly, including Emperor Constantine and Leo, rules that “the unlawful art of painting living creatures blasphemed the fundamental doctrine of our salvation—namely, the Incarnation of Christ, and contradicted the six holy synods” (Iconoclastic Council, 1). The Iconoclastic Council bans the use of images and pictures to depict religious ideologies and figures because they feared that worshippers honored the image over the actual person, place, or thing represented. To support their argument, the council recalls the Holy Book in which God states, “Thou shall not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath…They changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man,…and served the creature more than the Creator” (2). Unlike John, this council uses stronger textual evidence from the Holy Book in order to validate their argument against icons. Furthermore, they argued that “folly” painter constructed the icons to undermine the icons. Council members aimed to demonstrate the icons as evil creations because religious affiliates did not construct them. Nevertheless, the council banned all images, relics, and other representations of

During this time was The Reformation of the church and this influenced a lot of artists of that time. The basis of The Reformation was that people began opposing the practices of the church. This relates to current times also. In the United States lately, there has been a revolt against the government. There have already been multiple works of art depicting these current events including artwork, music, videos, etc. This artwork shows that no matter what the message is, if it is based on biblical scripture, it will always be relevant to current

Throughout different time periods and civilizations come many different types of art that would never be comparable to those of another time or place. There are also the pieces that come from a completely different time and place, but yet they can still be compared to one another. The Torso of a God (Egyptian, New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, last decade of the reign of Amenhotep III, Granodiorite, 1359-1349 B.C.) and the Statue of Asklepios (Greek, Hellenistic period, Pentelic Marble, 2nd century B.C.) are two sculptures made hundreds of years apart, yet they both display many similarities and show how art is constantly changing whilst keeping the same core ideas.

So, until an amazing situation like finding a time warp machine is discovered, we will only be able to speculate and debate with ourselves and each other the factual answer to the historical questions of our past. I’m sure we all have questioned one thing or another to realize that the only true answer lies in the past. An answer that could only come from our history. Well one of my curiosities is based on the art produced during the Gothic era of the images of the Virgin and baby Jesus. I want to know if these images portrayed of the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus all created to give a positive message? This is my findings.

My personal reaction to this art is that they are scary. Also, this is an old painting and it has to do something with religion.

The author, several pages later, says, “...the Bible makes it very plain that God has given them a true function in his service” (Gaebelein 65). Another source backs these statements up, it says, “...the Bible does not call upon Christians to look down upon the arts. In fact, the arts are imperative when considered from the biblical mandate that whatever we do should be done to the glory of God” (Solomon and Williams). The same source makes a point to say that art is not worse than other things humans can do, that it can be used not as God wants us to use it, like other gifts He has given us can be used incorrectly (Solomon and Williams). The book by Gaebelein helps to support that point by mentioning when the gold cow was made by Aaron and stating, “Like all human endeavor...the arts may be corrupted and turned into idols...

The right side has four figures that are overlapped while Christ is in front of the figure on the right side of the painting, giving a three-dimensional feel. The figures are shown in a realistic way and we are able to read the expressions they have on their faces. The figures’ expressions show satisfaction while they are insulting Christ. The mocking of Christ happened several times before his crucifixion. This was considered to be apart of Christ’s passion. In the bible there are gospel narratives that state Jesus predicted that he would be mocked in Matthew 20:19, Mark 10:34, and Luke 18:32. The narratives of Jesus being mocked are filled with irony because the mocking is focused on Jesus as a prophet. The other figures focus on how Christ is prophesied to save his people and yet, could not save himself from

Just as it’s human nature to believe in something larger or more powerful than oneself, it is also human nature to express that divinity through art, this is proven time and time again in human history. Picturing the divine is a type of testimony to show a cultures greatness. The painting Arhats Giving Alms to Beggars comes from the Chinese culture of the Southern Song period. Whereas, the mosaic Christ as Pantocrator comes from the Byzantine culture of the Greek Orthodox tradition. Although these paintings come from very different backgrounds both cultures show the divine and their pressure on mankind to follow the rules, such as giving away worldly desires. By doing so and letting go of material possessions, mankind can be hopeful of

Many artists have created visual interpretations of scriptures such as Reverand Mark Hewitt - Day of Pentecost. This painting is an accurate representation of Acts 2, as Reverand Mark Hewitt displays this through his use of colours whilst conveying strong emotions. 'Day of Pentecost' is most suited to the local Parish as this painting clearly represents the Holy Spirit.

The first significant thing one should notice about this painting is the way it is almost split down the middle: there are people on the left side of the painting, with Jesus, who are presumably the followers and Disciples of Jesus. Then there are people on the right side of the painting, and they appear to be the Pharisees who question Jesus’ performing a miracle, as, according to John 9, “the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath” (John 9:14). Their body language and facial expressions suggest they are the Pharisees: they are scoffing at Jesus, frowning at the blind man, and thrusting their hands forward, as if trying to block out or dismiss the sight. Their aversion to the miracle could not be better demonstrated. Conversely, on the left side of the painting, one sees Jesus and the blind man. John tells that the poor man was “blind from birth” (John 9:1). This cast him well outside the purity system for having a physical abnormality, as Marcus Borg points out (Borg, 51). Jesus’ compassion is clearly evident in this painting as well;

The illustration of the opening page of the Gospel of Mathew from The Book of Durrow (c. 625) displays an abstraction of the figure. One of the ways the figure is considered and abstract illustration is because of its stylization. The man has no arms which is not natural because humans are supposed to have arms. Also, the man’s body proportions are out of place. For example, the figure’s feet are tiny compared to the rest of his body which makes him abstract. Another characteristic present in the painting is cloisonnism. Cloisonnism means there is heavy outline and flat areas of color in the work of art. Flat colors of are seen in the man’s cloak in the yellow and orange squares. The heavy outline is visible around the cloak the man is wearing

The person who commissions the artwork tends to have a lot to say about that artwork. If a common person decided to create art for him or herself, they could show anything they wanted to in that art, including the living conditions of the people around them. However, in Ancient Egypt the royal and religious leaders commissioned the art, disallowing creative license. Art was used as advertising for the leaders, this made them look better and more powerful which would create loyalty, much like political figures and their television commercials attempt today. Statues and sculptures were made to represent kings, queens, and godly figures, so they could live on for eternity. Gods were symbolic figures in Egyptian culture; therefore, they were very popular in art. Artists had specific guidelines to follow when they were creating an image of a god or a human.

Being created in God’s image allows us to be creative and to glorify God through our own creativity. In Genesis 1:27, the Bible tells us that God created man in his own image. “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them”. Being created in the image of God, as Christians we are to glorify God through our creativity. Since we are created in His image, we therefore possess some of the characteristics of God, including creativity. Creativity is the human impulse to take what God has made, shape it, and make it new. This can be a painter, a