Christian Art: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions #107

by Beth Williamson

This Very Short Introduction decodes the key themes, signs, and symbols found in Christian the Eucharist, the image of the Crucifixion, the Virgin Mary, the Saints, Old and New Testament narrative imagery, and iconography. It also explores the theological and historical background of Christian imagery, from the devotional works of the Medieval and Renaissance periods, to the twenty-first century.
Williamson uses examples from, amongst others, Cimabue, Michelangelo, and Rosetti. She concludes by outlining the co-existence in contemporary 'post-Christian' culture of the deliberately controversial works of artists such as Andres Serrano and Chris Ofili, alongside the consciously devotional works of those such as Eric Gill and Peter Blake.

Genres: Art, Religion, History, Nonfiction, Art History, Christianity, Christian

132 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2003

About the author

Beth Williamson is a Senior Lecturer in History of Art at Bristol University. Her research focuses on medieval devotional imagery in Europe.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Pia G.]

for a long time, while learning about christian art, i found myself returning to the same questions. what does a particular symbol represent? how do we distinguish one saint from another? why do certain images reappear century after century?

williamson, however, encouraged me to step back and ask a more fundamental question: why did people need these images in the first place?

today, when we stand before an icon in a museum, most of us see a work of art. we notice its composition, its colours, its history. yet while reading this book, i kept returning to the thought that its original viewers didn't look at it in quite the same way. for them, an image wasn't simply something to be seen. it was something prayed before, contemplated and used to form a relationship with the sacred.

i felt this most strongly in the sections on medieval art. these images seemed less concerned with depicting a world than with inviting people into one. perhaps that is why my favourite aspect of the book wasn't what it taught me about particular works, but how often it made me think about the people who once stood before them.

the same was true of my understanding of art history itself. we often, almost unconsciously, read it as a story of progress. williamson instead tries to understand each period through its own needs and its own way of seeing. it left me wondering whether art history might also be a history of the people who looked at these images.

now i find myself imagining a medieval person standing before an icon. what did they see that i can no longer see?

●

uzun zamandır hristiyan sanatını öğrenirken kendimi hep aynı soruların peşinden giderken buldum. bir sembol neyi temsil ediyor? bir azizi diğerinden nasıl ayırt ediyoruz? belirli imgeler neden yüzyıllar boyunca tekrar tekrar karşımıza çıkıyor?

williamson ise beni biraz geri çekip daha temel bir soru sormaya zorladı: insanlar bu imgelere neden ihtiyaç duyuyordu?

bugün bir müzede bir ikonun önünde durduğumuzda çoğumuz onu bir sanat eseri olarak görüyoruz. kompozisyonuna, renklerine, tarihine bakıyoruz. oysa kitabı okurken sık sık şu düşünceye geri döndüm: bu eserlerin ilk izleyicileri onlara aynı gözlerle bakmıyordu. onlar için bir imge yalnızca görülen bir şey değil, dua edilen, düşünülen ve kutsalla ilişki kurulan bir şeydi.

özellikle orta çağ sanatına ayrılan bölümlerde bunu daha güçlü hissettim. bu imgeler bana bir dünyayı betimlemekten çok, insanı o dünyanın içine davet etmek için yapılmış gibi göründü. belki de bu yüzden kitabın en çok hoşuma giden yanı belirli eserlerden çok izleyiciler üzerine düşünmeme neden olmasıydı.

aynı şey sanat tarihine bakışım için de geçerli oldu. dönemleri çoğu zaman farkında olmadan bir ilerleme hikâyesi içinde okuyoruz. williamson ise her dönemi kendi ihtiyaçları ve kendi görme biçimi içinde anlamaya çalışıyor. bu yaklaşım bana, sanat tarihinin onlara bakan insanların da tarihi olabileceğini düşündürdü.

şimdi kendimi bir ikonun önünde duran orta çağlı bir insanı hayal ederken buluyorum. o ne görüyordu ki ben artık göremiyorum?

[Talie · Rating 3 out of 5]

در نقاشی شهادت قدیس متی کاراواجیو در کلیسای سن لوئیجی قهرمان باید قدیس متی باشد اما نیست. کاراواجیو جوان زیبا و نیمه برهنه‌ای را در مرکز نقاشی و در نور شدید قرار داده. جوان قاتل قدیس متی است. و قدیس متای پیر و پوشید در چند لایه لباس به زمین افتاده و افقی شده. البته قدیس متی هم در روشنایی است بیشتر لباسش. قهرمان متای قدیس نیست. قهرمان بدن ماهیچه‌ای و زیبای پسر قاتل است با شمشیری در دست. تکه هایی از بدن‌های برهنه‌ی دیگر شخصیت‌ها از تاریکی بیرون افتاده‌اند و گرداگرد قاتل جوان رعنا و برهنه و غرق نور و قدیس متای پیر و افتاده که  گویا نورش را  از قاتل می‌گیرد، در گردش اند. مخصوصن پشت برهنه‌ی پسری در پیش زمینه. این سبک پرتحرک باروک است که حواس فیزیکی را تحریک می‌کند. جشن بدن‌های برهنه در کلیسای کاتولیک.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good easy to read but fairly scholarly survey to two millenia of devotional art. Some important areas covered were...
1. The increasing devotion to Mary and the need for extra biblical sources of narrative [!] and the huge influence of the Legenda Aurera from the 13th century onwards [that I had not previously hear of].
2. The increasing reinforcement of all sort of bizarre tales of "saints" thru visual representation.
3. Differing views of the role of images: as a tool of instruction or simply as a reminder of teachings already receive thru to the Calvinist rejection of the use of images.
4. Strong tradition of OT antitypes and their NT types in expansive church decoration.
5. Ongoing influence of Christian art in the Western visual arts.

[ciara]

I wanted to dip my toe back into theological reading & this was the perfect book to get started with. Concise and accessible, I particularly loved the chapter on the controversy of some modern day Christian art; deliberating on the symbolism of the Piss Christ photograph was SO interesting. Also loved learning about saints and their illustrated attributes - would read a whole book just on that!

I NEED to talk to someone about all the facts that I learned from reading this lol :) Theology is so flipping cool xoxo

[Ivy-Mabel Fling · Rating 5 out of 5]

The very short introduction vary a great deal in terms of quality and level. This one is well organised, clear and helpful but is intended for beginners who know little about art and the development of Christianity. I would certainly recommend it for readers at that category.

[Daniel Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chapter 1: The Virgin Mary
Chapter 2: The body of Christ
Chapter 3: The saints
Chapter 4: Images and narrative
Chapter 5: Christian art transformed: the Reformation
Chapter 6: Christian art around the turn of the second millennium

[David Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book I read to research this post was Christian Art A Very Short Introduction by Beth Williamson which is a very good book which I bought from kindle. This book is part of a series of around 300 books where they get an expert to write around 150 pages as an introduction to a topic. I have reviewed quite a lot of the books in the series. Christian art doesn't encompass one type of art and isn't just defined as painting as there are other forms such as sculpture and wrought iron work. This book focuses on painting. This type of art can be traced back 2,000 years to the time of Christ. Much christian art can be found in the Byzantine Empire which of course was when the seat of power in the Roman Empire shifted to Byzantium or Istanbul as it is now known. The Hagia Sophia, one of the most important mosques in the Muslim world was originally intended to be a church. The Byzantine Emperors were christian until their empire was over run by the Muslims. In much old religious art God is depicted as biggest, hence appears nearest and as the characters get less important they gradually get smaller, hence appear further away. In those days they didn't understand perspective. Probably the greatest achievement in Christian Art was the Sistine Chapel where Michaelangelo spent years painting a huge ceilling. The theme of the painting of an old traditional church was chosen on purpose as the church was eager to consolidate its position as being the one true path.

[Shelley Alongi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like reading books that encapsulate the themes of art because even though I studied these things in college and have in the past it is always nice to get a refresher perspective on things. I know she couldn’t cover every point that has come up in the expression of Christian themes and devotional works but this is a good place to start for anyone interested in the subject including me. I enjoy reading books like this because it gives me a fresh perspective on things and also helps me to learn things that I might have forgotten.

[Ossian · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent introduction to the topic. As an undergraduate student who has taken multiple courses on related topics, I was certainly not the intended audience, but I value the book for what it is. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the topic, particularly as there are suggestions for further reading.

[Carolynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

excellent intro and refresher to main themes of Christian [mainly medieval and Renaissance] art. Brief honourable mentions to Ofili and Serrano at the end.

[Marc Adler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid introduction some very narrow topics in Christian art.

[Michael Huang · Rating 3 out of 5]

• In early Christian communities, art tends to be on catacombs with Shepard being a particularly popular theme. Later when Christianity received official recognition, art grew larger. Icons of Christ became more frequent. These use generic facial type for gods at the time. Iconoclasm and reformation both had influence on Christian Art. The former is a rekindling of Old Testament prohibitions. The latter is partly a reaction of the exuberant church interiors. But in any case, art was abandoned by only a very small sector.

• In certain art of “Annunciation”, Mary is seen with a book, sometimes with visible writing of OT prophecy of Isaiah ”A virgin will conceive, and she will bear a son”. In 1854, immaculate conception becomes official doctrine (dogma), and the topic becomes popular subject in art in Spain as well as in Spanish America. Of course another common subject is the crucification of Christ.

• Art of saints is also common. Devotion to relics of Saints is partly motivated by the perceived efficacy of saints being intercessors. (The one sharing your name is even more effective.) Earlier churches were usually built with the tomb of a saint as the altar. (It is when many churches were built and not enough saints to go around that smaller relics would be venerated.) Art of saints usually carry some identification. For instance, Magdalen often carries a small pot with a lid to recall the tradition that she washed the feet of Christ. (The way people pick their patron saint can be quite interesting. Died of stoning? Patron saint for those with a headache. Skinned alive? Patron saint for the tanners.)

• Part of the function of religious art is that it serves as “books for the illiterate”. Luther for instance, praises the merit of art in this regard (though some other reformers were more hostile). NT is often said to be foreshadowed by OT. An image of crucified Christ is thus often juxtaposed to one depicting sacrifice of Isaac. Francis of Assisi is said to have characteristics of Jesus. Image of his death next to that of crucification reminds people of that.

• In general, Counter-Reformation emanated originally from Italy and carried with them the energetic Baroque style from Italy. Rubens is the most forceful proponent of Counter-Reformation art. In contrast, Rembrandt is seen as carrying affinity to Protestant sensibilities, focusing on OT narratives, and inviting quiet contemplation (rather than stirring violent emotions).

• In more recent times, artists are still producing art with Christian subjects. But these tend to be art meant for museums rather than churches.

[Mehrnoush Khabbaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

کتاب هنر مسیحی کتاب بسیار خوبی هست برای شروع خوانش تاریخ هنر مخصوصا اگر حوصله خواندن تاریخ هنر دوره های پیشین رو نداشته باشی.
نکته بسیار خوب و قابل توجه این کتاب اینه که درباره نمادشناسی شمایل ها صحبت میکنه و مثال های زیادی از آثار هنر مسیحی میزنه که درک رو برای خواننده بهتر میکنه. هرچند کتاب کاملی نیست اما میتونه شروع کننده خوبی باشه برای ادامه مطالعه در زمینه هنر مسیحیت.

[J Grimsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the early part of this book but felt the jump from Rembrandt to Piss Christ by Andrew Serrano a little rough. I was not shocked by this but did not follow the Author's stance on this did she think it good or bad or worth the money paid for it. But hey I'm very old fashioned.

[Amanda Witt · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the title suggested, this is a compact book and there is enough detail on the history of art across the years. However the black and white photos of some paintings that are described, make it harder to envision the completed works in full, without access to Google to assist.

[Graham Hoppstock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful enough

[carelessdestiny · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brief but very insightful survey of the major periods in the art of Chritianity

[Alan Sutherland · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written book, however diagrams after difficult to see on the kindle version.

[Jacob Rouse]

Page 4
The image of the shepherd is a particularly popular one in early Christian art, occurring over 100 times in the catacombs as a whole. The shepherd symbolizes care and protection, as prefigured in the 23rd Psalm. The shepherd had already appeared in Greek art, with the god Hermes sometimes being portrayed carrying a sheep or a Ram. Pagan imagery of Hermes in this aspect was adapted by Christians to form the image of Christ the Good Shepherd.

Rembrandt, The Sacrifice of Isaac, 1635
Hans Holbein the Younger, An Allegory of the Old and New Testaments, c.1532
El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos), St. Luke Painting the Virgin, c.1560
Diego Velazquez, Virgin of the Immaculate Conception, c.1618
Peter Paul Rubens, The Real Presence of the Eucharist, 1609
Chris Ofili, The Holy Virgin Mary, 1996
Andres Serrano, Piss Christ, 1987

Donatello,

Coesfeld Cross and Gabelkreuz
In 1306, the bishop of London, Ralph Baldock, ordered a crucifix to be removed from the chapel at Coneyhood, in the parish of St. Mildred, Poultry, London. The records of this case, in the Annals of London, not the form of the cros: the horizontal cross arm was not of the customary design, and it seems that this crucifixmust have been of the type known as a Gabelkreuz, a type of crucifix seemingly emanating from Germany, which characteristically used Y-shaped, or fork-shaped cross-arms, and a dramatically suspended, contorted, and suffering Christ Figure. Either the unfamiliar form of the cross, or the particular way in which the Christ figure was shown, or both, caused the cross to be described in the Annals as a 'crux horribilis' (a 'horrible' or 'monstrous' cross). Just over a century later, the Florentine sculptor Donatello produces a carved wooden crucifix, now in the Bardi chapel in the church of S. Croce. This crucifix, according to Giorgio Vasari's Lives of the Artists, was criticized by Donatello's friend and rival, Filippo Brunelleschi, for seeming to show the body of a peasant rather than the body of Christ. This story, anecdotal though it may be, would seem to indicate that the attempt of the artist to show Christ's real humanity, through emphasizing the effects of his physical suffering upon his human body, was deemed, by some viewers, to be unsuitable or inappropriate.

Seen in the context of other artists' attempts to state anew the message of Christ's humanity and suffering, and with a knowledge of the ways in which artists have constantly stressed Christ's physicality, Serrano's Piss Christ does not necessarily have to seem as irreverent, as offensive, as keen to poke fun at the subject matter and the discomfited viewer, as some critics have claimed. It is therefore clearly important to place works such as this in some kind of historical context.
Also, more recently, Damien Hirst.



Matthias Grünewald, Isenheim