Art and the Roman Catholic Church Essay

Art and the Roman Catholic Church experience ties that go back to the simple foundation of Christianity itself. through and through the beginning of the 1st deoxycytidine monophosphate through modern times, maneuver has contend a crucial role for the church and its 2.1 billion psyche following. Art has been used to portray events in the history of Catholicism as well as to convey the message of the Bible, the Christian religions virtually precious source of information. Artistic rooms have varied throughout the years, taking on a gothic facial expression after the era of the Byzantine Empire, the Romanesque style of architecture, diving into forms of trick such(prenominal) as theatre and poem, art and the Catholic Church have been tightly associated for centuries.Before the relationship between art and the Catholic church toilette be expressed, the term art, essential first be defined. St. Thomas Aquinas (c.1225-1274) relates art and religion by sharing that, The friendsh ip of God is to all creatures what the knowledge of the artificer is to things do by his art.i The influential philosopher brings together a comparison of the enigma of faith and ties it to art. The meaning of his quotes is to address the level of Gods knowledge in a way where people will understand. He does this by comparing Gods knowledge to that of an artist, how no unrivaled knows admitly why things are the way they are besides the artist, therefore the exact purpose is left to interpretation. Because art has been around longer than written boy has, it gives a special insight to the earliest periods in the time of the Catholic church.The oldest form of art found in Christianity is dated to the early second century, where sculptures were found on Roman coffins.ii These coffins would usually depict Christian symbols such as the fish, the cross, or the dove, and only be recognizable to fellow Christians referable to the vast amount of persecution amongst the Christian religi on. These symbols are seen as the earliest forms of art and Christianity. Many Christian beliefs are based and formed on artists depictions of what happened during the life story of Jesus Christ as well as ahead he was alive. Here one is faced with the awkward fact that the only march on which one could base a history of emotional drive is the give of art itself.i Newton expresses the odd truth that the most precise way to interpret the emotion of early 2nd century Christians to late 18th century Catholics is through are, but the one who is expression for this understanding of emotion must first see the artwork from the emotions and thoughts expressed, not by its genre.Putting art into the category of Christian or Religious is misleading. Yes the artist may have been Christian, yes the artwork may backtrack religious symbols or depictions, but what the artist is intending on doing is making you whole tone a specific way while also conveying an interpretation. The worldly con cern Story in Genesis I gives us a look at what it is believed God likes. Because God created humankind in his image,ii and he saw everything he had made and indeed it was very good,iii this can only portray the belief that God himself finds joy in the witness of the world as an expression of the beauty that is in Himself. Leaving one to interpret that God is an appreciator of art in its entirety. emperor Constantine actually plays a major role in art for the Catholic Church. Emperor Constantine was the head of the Byzantine Empire in 313AD when he officially canonic Christianity be recognized.iv This was one of the most important events in the history of Christianity because before this, Christians were a group that met in secret to avoid persecution by gentiles for believe that Jesus was the messiah.The Byzantine Empire controlled all the land around the Mediterranean Sea, a major point of travel and trade. This allowed for a bigger siding of Jews converting to Christianity. T he Byzantine style of art is described as a, fusion of oriental person decoration, Hellenistic naturalism with echoes of pagan subject matter, and Christian symbolism.iMosaics would be varicolored along city walls, later on finding their way into churches. The pieces of work also served as advertisements for the Christian Church.Built in the early twelfth century, Abbey Church of St. Denis is the first chivalric-style Cathedral ever built.ii It represents the typical blueprint for Gothic architecture. The high windows, ceilings and arcs are all typical styles of gothic architecture in regards to the cathedrals that popped up throughout the late 12th century. In it stood the Virgin of Jeanne dEvreux, a 68cm sculpture depicting the Virgin bloody shame holding youngster Christ.Aside from currently being held in the Louvre museum, the sculpture captures what is know even today as the fundamental image most Christians have in their mind. Although there hasnt been a photograph of this event, Christians have images of Mary and Baby Jesus in their mind because of art in the church. As a place for learning, people go to church to do to a greater extent than listen to the priest, but to let the art and architecture of the church heart and soul them spiritually.View as multi-pages