Christian art is a term that covers all visual works produced in an attempt to illustrate, supplement and portray in tangible form the principles of Christianity. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) Christ is the English term for the Greek ( Khristós) meaning "the anointed " The virgin birth of Jesus is a religious Tenet of Christianity and Islam which holds that Mary miraculously conceived Jesus while The crucifixion of Jesus is an event recorded in all four Gospels (;;) which takes place after his arrest and trial and includes his scourging Within the body of Christian beliefs the resurrection of Jesus is a core event on which much of Christian doctrine and theology depend Church (disambiguation Christian Church and the word church are used to denote both a Christian association of people and a Place of worship The term New Covenant (; Greek:, diathēkē kainē is used in the Bible (both in the Hebrew Bible and the Greek New Testament) to refer The Twelve Apostles (Greek apostolos, "someone sent out" e This article is about the canonical books of the New Testament The purpose of this timeline is to give a detailed account of Christianity from the beginning of the current era ( AD) to the present Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. Books of the Bible are listed differently in the canons of Jews and Catholic, Protestant, Greek Orthodox Slavonic Orthodox Georgian Armenian Apostolic A Biblical canon or canon of scripture is a list or Set of Biblical books considered to be authoritative as Scripture by a particular religious The biblical apocrypha (from the Greek word ἀπόκρυφος meaning hidden) are books published in an edition of the Bible whose canonicity Christian Theology is discourse concerning Christian faith Christian theologians use biblical Exegesis, rational analysis and argument SSC RF "Troitsk Institute of Innovative and Termonuclear Research" or TRINITY for shprt Троицкий Институт инновационных и термоядерных In many religions the supreme Deity ( God) is given the title and attributions of Father. Christian views of Jesus consist of the teachings and beliefs held by Christian groups about Jesus including his divinity humanity and earthly life In mainstream Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is one of the three entities of the Holy Trinity which make up the single substance This is an overview of the History of Christian Theology from the time of Christ to the present Christian Theology is discourse concerning Christian faith Christian theologians use biblical Exegesis, rational analysis and argument Christian apologetics is a field of Christian theology that aims to present a rational basis for the Christian faith, defend the faith against objections Christian tradition is a collection of Traditions of practice or belief associated with Christianity. Early Christianity is commonly defined as the Christianity of the three centuries between the Crucifixion of Jesus ( c This is a general introduction to ecumenical councils For the Roman Catholic councils, see Catholic Ecumenical Councils. A creed is a statement of Belief — usually Religious belief — or Faith often recited as part of a religious service See also Evangelism, Christianization A Christian mission has been widely defined since the Lausanne Congress of 1974 as that which The East-West Schism, or the Great Schism, divided medieval Christendom into Eastern (Greek and Western (Latin branches which later became known as the The Crusades were a series of military campaigns of a religious character waged by much of Christian Europe against external and internal opponents The Protestant Reformation was a reform movement in Europe that began in 1517 though its roots lie further back in time Denominationalism|List of Christian denominations|Church (disambiguation A Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name structure and doctrine within A sermon is an oration by a Prophet or member of the Clergy. Sermons address a Biblical, theological, or religious topic Prayer is an important theme in Christianity, and there are several different forms of prayer Ecumenism (also oecumenism, œcumenism) refers to initiatives aimed at greater Religious unity or cooperation Christianity and other religions appear to share some elements Christian movements are theological, political or philosophical interpretations of Christianity that are not generally represented by a specific church Christian music is music that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life A Liturgy is a set form of ceremony or pattern of worship Christian liturgy is a pattern for worship used (whether recommended or prescribed by a Christian congregation or The liturgical year, also known as the Christian year, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches which determines when Christian symbolism is defined as the investing of outward things or actions with an inner meaning the expression of Christian ideas Throughout the History of Christianity, a wide range of Christians and non-Christians alike have offered criticisms of Christianity, the Church, and Christians Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings Virtually all Christian groupings use or have used art to some extent. The prominence of art and the media, style, and representations change; however, the unifying theme is ultimately the representation of the life and times of Jesus Christ and in some cases the Old Testament. Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. Depictions of saints are also common, especially in Anglicanism, Roman Catholicism, and Eastern Orthodoxy. Anglicanism is a tradition of Christian faith Churches in this tradition either have historical connections to the Church of England or have similar beliefs The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world

History

Beginnings

Christ Jesus,^[1] the Good Shepherd, 2nd century.

Virgin and Child. Wall painting from the early catacombs, Rome, 4th century. The first Burial galleries to be referred to as catacombs lie beneath San Sebastiano fuori le mura, in Rome.

Christian art is nearly as old as Christianity, and the first preserved Christian images emerge from about 70 AD, as recorded in the archeological findings at the church in Megiddo. This early proliferation of images, although not fully preserved, leaves us with archaeological records regarding early Christianity and its evolution. The oldest still-existent Christian paintings are from the site at Megiddo, dated to about 70 A. D. , and the oldest Christian sculptures are from sarcophagi, dating to the beginning of the 2nd century. A sarcophagus is a Funeral receptacle for a Corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone

Post-Roman period

See also: Art in Roman Catholicism

Much of the art surviving from Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire is Christian art. Roman Catholic art consists of all visual works produced in an attempt to illustrate supplement and portray in tangible form the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. The Decline of the Roman Empire, leading to the Fall of the Roman Empire, or the Fall of Rome, was the end of the Western Roman Empire. While the Western Roman Empire's political structure essentially collapsed after the fall of Rome, its religious hierarchy, what is today the modern-day Roman Catholic Church funded and supported production of sacred art. Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 The Orthodox Church of Constantinople, which enjoyed greater stability within the surviving Eastern Empire was key in funding arts there, and glorifying Christianity. History Early history Christianity in Byzantium existed from the time of the Twelve Apostles, but it was in the year 330 that the Roman Emperor As a stable Western European society emerged during the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church led the way in terms of art, using its resources to commission paintings and sculptures. Painting (pān'tīng in Art, is the practice of applying Color to a Surface (support base such as e Christian art is found in architecture principally in the form of churches, cathedrals, monasteries and tombs. The term architecture (from Greek αρχιτεκτονικήarchitektoniki) can be used to mean a process a profession or documentation A church building is a Building or Structure whose primary purpose is to facilitate the meeting of a church. This article is about the history and organisation of the cathedral This article concerns the buildings occupied by monastics. For the life inside monasteries and its historical roots see Monasticism. For the New York prison see The Tombs. A Tomb is a repository for the remains of the dead.

During the development of Christian art in the Byzantine empire (see Byzantine art), a more abstract aesthetic replaced the naturalism previously established in Hellenistic art. Byzantine art is the term commonly used to describe the artistic products of the Byzantine Empire from about the 4th century until the Fall of Constantinople The Hellenistic period of European history was the period between the death of Alexander the Great (Alexander III of Macedon in 323 BC and the annexation This new style was hieratic, meaning its primary purpose was to convey religious meaning rather than accurately render objects and people. Realistic perspective, proportions, light and color were ignored in favor of geometric simplification of forms, reverse perspective and standardized conventions to portray individuals and events. The controversy over the use of graven images, the interpretation of the Second Commandment, and the crisis of Iconoclasm led to two main results: It led to a standardization of religious imagery within the Eastern Orthodoxy, and it led to a minimalist aesthetic in the Protestant Church. Iconoclasm, Greek for "image-breaking" is the deliberate destruction within a culture of the culture's own religious Icons and other symbols or monuments The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation.

Modern period

As a secular, non-sectarian, universal notion of art arose in 19th century Western Europe, ancient and Medieval Christian art began to be collected for art appreciation rather than worship, while contemporary Christian art was considered marginal. Occasionally, secular artists treated Christian themes (Bouguereau , Manet) — but only rarely was a Christian artist included in the historical canon (such as Rouault or Stanley Spencer). William-Adolphe Bouguereau (November 30 1825 – August 19 1905 was a French academic painter. Georges Henri Rouault ( 27 May 1871 &ndash 13 February 1958) was a French Fauvist and Expressionist painter Sir Stanley Spencer ( 30 June 1891 &ndash 14 December 1959) was an English painter. However many modern artists such as Eric Gill, Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, Jacob Epstein, Elizabeth Frink and Graham Sutherland have produced well-known works of art for churches. Arthur Eric Rowton Gill ( 22 February 1882 – 17 November 1940) was a British sculptor, typeface designer, Marc Chagall (מאַרק שאַגאַל&lrm Belarusian: Мойша Захаравіч Шагалаў Mojša Zaharavič Šagałaŭ; Russian: Марк Henri Matisse (31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954 was a French Artist, known for his use of Colour and his fluid brilliant and original draughtsmanship Sir Jacob Epstein ( 10 November 1880 – 19 August 1959) was an American-born sculptor who worked chiefly in the UK where Dame Elisabeth Jean Frink DBE, CH, RA (b 14 November 1930, Thurlow Suffolk - d Graham Vivian Sutherland OM ( August 24, 1903 &ndash February 17, 1980) was an English Artist. ^[2]

The Last Supper Leonardo Da Vinci (1498)

Popular devotional art

Since the advent of printing, the sale of reproductions of pious works has been a major element of popular Christian culture. Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci ( April 15 1452 – May 2 1519 was an Italian Polymath, having been a scientist Mathematician, Engineer In the nineteenth century, this included genre painters such as Mihály Munkácsy. TemplateInfobox person (more options and/or integrated into the text| period = 19th Century| In the modern era, companies specialising in modern commercial Christian artists such as Thomas Blackshear and Thomas Kinkade, although widely regarded in the fine art world as kitsch,^[3] have been very successful. Thomas Blackshear is a United States African American artist many of whose paintings adorn Evangelical Churches notably the New Life Church Thomas Kinkade (born January 19, 1958 in Sacramento California) is an American painter of realistic, Bucolic

Symbolism

An example of a Russian Orthodox Icon of Mary and Jesus (Our Lady of St. Theodore). An icon (from Greek εἰκών eikōn, "image" is a religious work of art most commonly a painting from Eastern Christianity. Fyodorovskaya Theotokos (Russian Федоровская Богоматерь) also known as Our Lady of St

A work of Christian art, whatever the medium, usually portrays a specific person or religious event. Each piece usually presents symbolism native to that religious sect. There is no unifying or defining "Christian" symbol; for example, the Christian Cross does not look the same throughout Christian denominations, nor is the Bible the same work of literature for each sect. The Christian cross is the best-known Religious symbol of Christianity. Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin However, the following are general symbols that are replete throughout most Christian works:

• Jesus : the central individual in Christianity : Images of Jesus
• The Christian cross: represents the life, death, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ as well as human salvation because of His sacrifice
• The Human condition
  • Love : Agape
  • Life
  • Death

Themes

Themes often seen in Christian art are:

A rare sample of medieval Orthodox sculpture from Russia. Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) The depiction of Jesus in art took several centuries to reach a conventional standardized form for his physical appearance which has subsequently remained largely stable since that The Christian cross is the best-known Religious symbol of Christianity. The human condition encompasses all of the Experience of being Human. Love is any of a number of Emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong Affection. Agapē (ˈægəpiː ( Gk αγάπη) is one of several Greek words translated into English as love. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings In Christianity the Annunciation ( grc Ευαγγελισμός της Θεοτόκου, Evangelismós tēs Theotókou in Greek) is the revelation The Adoration of the Magi is the name traditionally given to the Christian subject in the Nativity of Jesus in art in which the three Magi, represented as kings The Adoration of the shepherds, in Christian iconography is a scene in which Shepherds are near witnesses to the birth of Jesus, at his birthplace typically depicted The general and most common understanding of the Christian Doctrine of Ascension holds that Jesus bodily ascended to Heaven in the presence Angels have appeared in works of Art for millenniaAngel-shaped beings appear in ancient Mesopotamian and Greek art and were probably the inspiration for The Arrest of Jesus is a pivotal event recorded in the Canonical Gospels, in which Jesus is arrested In the Synoptic gospels, Jesus is baptised by John the Baptist. Christ in Majesty, or Christ in Glory, in Latin Majestas Domini, is the Western Christian image of Christ seated on a throne as ruler of the world always The Coronation of the Virgin or Coronation of Mary is a subject in Christian art, especially popular in Italy in the 13th to 15th centuries but continuing in popularity A crucifix (from Latin cruci fixus meaning "(one fixed to a cross" is a cross with a representation of Jesus ' body or corpus The Descent from the Cross ( Greek: Αποκαθελωσις Apokathelosis) or Deposition, is the scene as depicted in art from the Gospel account of The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and St In the Christian Gospels the Last Supper (also called the Lord's Supper or Mystical Supper) was the last meal Jesus shared with his Images of the Madonna and Madonna and Child are one of the central Icons of Christianity, representing the Madonna or Mary mother of Jesus Maestà, the Italian word for "majesty" designates an iconic formula of the enthroned Madonna with the child Jesus, whether or not accompanied The Nativity of Jesus has been a major subject of Christian art since the 4th century Noli me tangere, meaning "don't touch me" is the Latin version of words spoken according to, by Jesus to Mary Magdalene The Pietà (pl same Italian for pity) is a subject in Christian art depicting The Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus, most The Elevation of the Cross is a Triptych painting by Rubens. Rubens painted The Elevation of the Cross after returning to Flanders The major Resurrection appearances of Jesus are reported in the New Testament to have occurred after his death and burial and prior to his Ascension The Sanhedrin Trial of Jesus is an event reported by all the Canonical Gospels of the Bible. Stations of the Cross (or Way of the Cross; in Latin, Via Crucis; also called the Via Dolorosa or Way of Sorrows, or simply The Tree of Jesse refers to a passage in the Biblical Book of Isaiah which describes metaphorically the descent of the Messiah and is accepted by Christians as pertaining

Notes

References

• Grabar, André (1968). Christian iconography, a study of its origins. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691018308.  

See also

• Andachtsbilder
• Art in Roman Catholicism
• Christian icons
• Christian music
• Christian poetry
• Christian symbolism
  • Saint symbology
• Holy card
• Iconography
• Illuminated manuscript
• Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy
• Theological aesthetics
• Buddhist art
• Islamic art

External links

• The Museum of Biblical Art (MOBIA), New York USA
• Princeton's Index of Christian Art
• Iconia, a blog about religion and art by Menachem Wecker
• Glocal Christianity A blog featuring one of the largest collections of alternative Christian art online
• Information about Christian Symbolism
• www.biblical-art.com Gallery of online biblical art (all periods)
• www.CreativeMYK.com Global Christian artist network