Sacred Art Every Catholic Should Know

by Jem Sullivan

For centuries, the Catholic Church served the cultural role of principal patron of the arts. It is a historical fact that many of the world’s most admired and treasured artistic masterworks are Christian in theme, origin, and location. There has never been a time in history when artists have not found inspiration and flourishing in the Catholic tradition. From the rustic art of the ancient Christian catacombs to majestic Byzantine basilicas, from the soaring Gothic cathedrals of the Middle Ages to the creative torrent of the Renaissance, from the mysticism of the Baroque to the present day, the truth and goodness of the Catholic faith has taken the form of the beautiful in masterpieces of sacred art that form an immense, enduring artistic heritage.

Sacred Art Every Catholic Should Know is a unique invitation to discover a selection of the world’s most renowned artistic masterpieces. From this vast treasury of sacred art, such pieces

Leonardo da Vinci’s Last SupperMichelangelo’s Pièta and the Sistine Chapel CeilingRublev’s The TrinityJan van Eyck’s Ghent AltarpieceFra Angelico’s AnnunciationRaphael’s The Disputation of the Most Holy SacramentBernini’s Ecstasy of Saint TeresaCaravaggio’s The Calling of Saint MatthewEl Greco’s PentecostJoin in a unique, personal guided tour through these and other artistic masterpieces that evoke the truth, goodness, and beauty of the Catholic faith.

159 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2013

About the author

Jem Sullivan, PhD

Reviews

[Cat (Catherine) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cohesive collection of sacred art and the format of the book is designed well. I really liked the author's analysis on a lot of the works, however, it seemed to me that the topics ended up being more about what the painting was talking about/referencing rather than analyzing the art and pointing out details to help train artistic eyes. I was a little disappointed that the last few works didn't have as large excerpts as the others and it left me wondering more about those pieces. However, I am a bit of an art nerd, so maybe those are just personal complaints. Overall, it was an enjoyable read, and has left me with a better knowledge of sacred art that I didn't know about before. I will definitely be using it as a reference book in the future.

[Ellenore Clementine Kruger · Rating 5 out of 5]

pretty good

I finally got to see where some conspiracies come from i guess. History will show patterns. But there were some discrepancies in my opinion. I guess paintings crowded with people felt too close to home. They were saints and angels, but it still felt crowded lol

[Salty Biscuit Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. It was nice having an analysis of the art, history of the artist, close-up looks of the art.

I was disappointed though, to discover about 2/3 through, instead of these nice, long, thoughtful paragraphs analyzing the featured artwork…. We switched basically to two sentence statements. It became rushed, almost like you ran out of time, and just had to submit what work you had complete before the deadline.