The Power Of Religious Figures

It is difficult to provide a precise definition of religion as scholars think that there are various types of religion practices. (Sauchelli, 2016) According to Smith (1963); Wulff (1997), “religion” seemed to have a minimum of three different meanings in ancient Rome, including a superhuman power that must be respected, the feeling present in an individual observing and thinking of a superhuman power and ritual acts carried out in the name of a superhuman power. Argyle and Beit-Hallahmi (1975) stated that "religion" is a system of beliefs of a divine or superhuman power. Bellah (1970) defined "religion" as a set of symbolic forms and acts that relate man to the ultimate conditions of his

This essay aims to investigate two different time periods in the history of art. It will scrutinize the influence that the respective societal contexts had on the different artists, which in turn, caused them to arrange the formal elements in a specific way. I will be examining an Egyptian sculpture of the god Isis nursing Horus, her son, as well as the Vladimir Virgin icon, which dates from the Byzantine era. Experts vary on the precise ‘lifetime’ of the Ancient Egyptian civilization, but according to Mason (2007:10) it existed from 3100 BCE up to 30 BCE. The Byzantine era, which

From my observation at the Met, this sculpture is inside a medium glass and space. Also, it is by itself in the glass. It is a three-dimensional sculpture created by modeling and merging hard materials. Next to it there are other deities (Vishnu, Parvati, Ganesh etc.) and sculptors from the Chola Dynasty. The other works near it complements the sculpture as I have stated above they are from the same time period so, they are related to each other some way and

This particular statuette represents the Virgin Mary and her child (Barbier). It is sculpted with gilded silver and has basse-taille reliefs on the pedestal, embellished with various stones and pearls. The statuette is approximately 2 feet tall and the Virgin is standing on a rectangular pedestal that rests on four small lions (Kleiner). The

In Artwork 1, Mary is placed in the centre of the image between Christ who is on the left and God who is on the right. The Holy Spirit is between the two which forms the Holy Trinity. The composition can be viewed as forming an inverted triangle or heart shape. Mary is the focal figure with an attitude of modesty, reverence and tranquil emotion with her right hand placed upon her heart in which reinforces this. God is expressed as a picture of wisdom as He is crowning the head of Mary with a garland of roses, along side Jesus. The Holy Spirit is present in the image above Mary and is portrayed in the traditional form of a white dove. Cherubs, angelic beings, are visible at the base of the painting which can be interpreted as guards. The use of blue in their garments symbolising heavenly grace in

A group of people using religion to manipulate the masses to oppose another grouping of people based on their own interpretation of faith; the conspiracy of organized religions is controlled, it is an easy way to take a group of people with like-minded beliefs group them together and manipulate them for an ulterior goal; our only goal should be to exist as good people and essentially that is what the core of all these faiths tell you but organized religion has taken that goal and twisted it for human made selfish ambitions of greed and power.

The virgin and child is known as Morgan Madonna as well. The sculpture was made in the twelve century and is Romanesque Art. The Morgan and child is a sculpture made out of painted wood that was used to adorn church portals. It was made during the Romanesque period. Mary is as the throne for Christ since she is seated on the throne. Any depiction of Mary with Jesus on her lap is known as the thrown of wisdom. Christ’s wisdom is depicted in his adult head and small body. Is figure was used as a religious drama because of its context. Both of Jesus hands are missing but, it is assumed that he might be blessing and with the other holding the book of the word of god since it’s in a church. Jesus represents the priesthood, humankind and god. Mary

The Gothic ivory statuette is of the Virgin Mary standing in a vertical composition. Mary’s body pushes against the force of gravity; she seems tall and strong. The nature of the vertical composition forces the viewer to look at the image from top to bottom. As we examine Mary, she feels natural and relaxed because she stands with most of her weight shifted to one side, creating a contrapposto. This pose, though asymmetrical, provides balance when we consider the figure cradled on her hip. The Christ child sits, pressed into Mary’s side and supported by her left arm. Christ grasps the flowing folds of his mother’s veil in one hand, and in the other, he holds a fruit. Together, these figures create a triangle. Mary’s head forms the apex of the triangle where her right arm and Christ form the base corners. Mary dominates the tip of the composition, and she serves as the vertical component. The vertical nature of the piece impacts how the viewer interacts with the piece. The statuette seems to ascend, or refer to the heavens. The composition acts as a reminder that this piece holds a holy or spiritual

Throughout history, people have used paintings and art as a tool to express their religious beliefs and values. Illustrations depicting the Virgin Mary and child, often referred to as Madonna and Child, are one of the most recurring images in Christian and European Art through the ages. Though these paintings and sculptures may have similarities in their iconography and style each work of art varies based on the different artists’ and time periods. Two paintings that portray these features currently reside in the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. The first, Virgin and Child by Rogier van der Wyden, was originally painted after 1454. In the painting, the Virgin Mary is holding Christ against her shoulder as he twists around to face toward the viewers. The second painting is Virgin and Child with a Donor, painted by Antoniazzo Romano and originally painted c. 1480. In this painting, Virgin Mary is supporting Christ who seems to be standing and includes a figure of a man with his hands crossed in prayer. While both paintings depict the mother and child, there are both similarities and differences in style and portrayal. In this paper, I will thoroughly examine these traits, as well as address the similarities and differences associated with the two paintings. This analysis will be done by using information gained from reading Gardner’s Art Through the Ages, in class lectures from ARTH 1381 Art and Society Renaissance to Modern and ARTH 1300 Ways of Seeing Art, and close visual

The sculptures and paint show details how society viewed and interpreted women body, sexuality, and maternity. In addition, revealed that these women were protected from threats around them with ornaments. Civilizations since early times, believed that we were in permanent threat from forces we do not see or cannot explain and because of it, we protected ourselves with artificial elements in a form of jewelry, crowns or caps. This idea has been continue from one generation to the next to the point that in modern societies some of us still use this type of protection in our bodies (e.g., small cross, divine images, tattoos, etc.).These pieces of art also indicate that humans believed in gods with superpowers and they are looking over us constantly. Humanity also believes in dark forces or demons trying to makes us do things that would upset the good gods. Some of the differences between these sculptures and paint are the material in which each one of them were created. The first figure, the Woman of Willendorf was carved in limestone, the second piece, the portrait of Queen Tiye was carved in wood and the last piece, the Virgin and Child Icon was created of tempera on a wood. You can also notice how the details on their faces and bodies changes throughout the time and years. The woman of Willendorf figurine offers details of a voluptuous nude women’s body but there is not face, or feet. Queen Tiye statue shows the face of a woman in detail closed to the gods but without any body parts and lastly The Virgin and Child Icon, is an expression of divinity of the views, reflections and beliefs from the gospel. Because communities started to innovate on the art of carving and painting, populations began to discover and/or create art with the objective of expressing different purposes of our daily lives, such as the beauty of a woman’s body, or to commemorate an ancient

Christopher Hitchens the author of God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything uses his own personal experiences with religions and gives us an insight as to why he feels that religion is flawed. Throughout his book he uses arguments that is justified by modern science and social issues that uses religion as an excuse to execute unreasonable actions. His arguments are from the consumption of certain meats to the war against nations just for defending the righteousness of each religion. Hitchens thoughts of human religion is back up by evidence collected by modern science and studies that religion is arbitrary in their beliefs and it teaches people to be self centered and conceited. Hitchens explains how all religion has no true evidence of its actual existence but rather their followers must follow blindly through “faith”, which is induced from stories written by other humans. With science and reason in the modern age, Hitchens feels that the need for a strong belief in religion is no longer needed for individuals to live a quality and moral life.

It is moreover pyramidal in structure with the vertex coinciding with Mary’s head. The base of the sculpture depicts the rock of Golgotha and is broader than the progressive

In this relief, we see it as Christ the child shares the viewer his joy of starting his new adventure as well as praising the purity of Virgin Mary. There are also three angels emerging from the cloud. In the Old Testament, angel’s functions refer to convey God’s will to mankind, which in this relief the angels reminds us of their role as “annunciators (ABRAHAM, 2: The three angels). They were the ones who carried messages from god and annunciated the birth of Christ. They are the witnesses of Christ the child coming to the human world as well as proof of Virgin Mary’s virtue of immaculate. In this relief, they are the guardian of the Virgin and child as well as admirers of Mary’s pure and virgin status. With their hands holding together in prayer, they show their blessings and caring to the mother and son as well as to the human world. In addition, unlike other Virgin Mary we see in churches’ altarpieces that are usually seated on throne, we also have Mary sitting humbly on the ground in this relief. According to Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art, there is a popular theme of “Madonna of Humility” which its essential figure is that the Virgin is seated on the ground. The dictionary also states that artists set Virgin Mary on the ground to convey a medieval theology,

Religion has been a powerful force in human history. Mankind has longed and searched for the answers to its purpose, the reason for being and the possibility of life after physical death. They reasoned that an afterlife would be a place of accounting and reckoning for the life they lived on earth. Religious belief systems seemed to give the answers as to how to prepare for the afterlife. Religion became the means of giving answers to those basic yet deep-seated questions of both life and death. Religion provided a format of rules and laws for conduct and treatment toward others based on the desires and wishes of a god or gods that people envisioned, imagined or invented. Religious belief systems have been a powerful force for good and bad...good in the sense that it provided a measure of individual behavior and order in society for the wellbeing of the whole, but bad in the sense that men of ambition who craved power and control over others would often use religion as a tool of manipulation and fear. A casual glance of history tells us that complete civilizations have been built, grown and maintained around elaborate religious systems, ancient Egypt being a prime example.

Throughout history, religion has proved to be the main source of social stability in different communities and cultural groups. Everything that is part of a societal system, including law, is influenced by religious beliefs and practices of that society. This being said, most religions are based on the theory that there is a single more powerful entity, that has control over aspects of which humans do not. For the longest time in history, sociologists have argued that peer group, political movements, schools and most importantly, the family to be agents of socialization. Because of this reason, they have ignored the role played by religion in the perpetuation of cultural as well as social