Christians are not new participants or important benefactors of visual art that transcend time and culture. They produce works often reflecting deep spiritual truths, which are theology, storytelling and worship in image. Art has been the tool of religious communication, of biblical exposition, and of edification since the beginning of Christianity. In the early Christian period’s mosaics, frescoes and illuminated manuscripts, there is a deliberately nuanced marriage of artistic genius and theological depth.
Symbolism is a staple of Christian visual art, where artists express multivalent messages. Fish, lambs and doves all frequently show up as images of Christ, sacrifice and the Holy Spirit. These icons were particularly important during times of persecution when Christians lacked any official means of public demonstration. Catacomb paintings, for example, were not only decorations but also quiet affirmations of resurrection promise.
The Renaissance brought Christian artists such as Michelangelo, Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci who made religious art to unsurpassed levels, marrying religion with humanism. They were perfect examples of the spiritual-human connection: Godly subjects were rendered sympathetically, appealing to the spiritual as well as the intellectual audience. In the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, for example, we can see more than Michelangelo’s technical genius: it’s an exploration of humanity’s relation to the divine, as it unfolds in the unfolding of the Bible.
In the Renaissance, Christian visual artists re-established what it means to be artistic: Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael. Renaissance artists married humanist values with religious themes and played with the relationship between divine and human. Michelangelo’s ceiling at the Sistine Chapel illustrates this perfectly, in that it shows how vast God’s creation was, and how human beings fit into it. And so, too, was a new emphasis on realist authenticity and anatomical precision, on the incarnation of Christ as fully divine and fully human.
The place of the visual arts in Christianity changed dramatically with the Reformation, especially in Protestant countries. Iconoclasm arose as Reformers such as Martin Luther and John Calvin called for pictures. But art still continued to depict scripture and engender private prayer. Protestant artists such as Rembrandt made religious scenes about grace and salvation, and usually introspective and emotional.
New risks and new horizons were presented to Christian artists in the contemporary age. The rise of abstract and conceptual art stretched the visual possibilities of religion. Artists like Georges Rouault and Marc Chagall rode this trend, making new uses of modernist artmaking to approach spiritual issues. Their writings were often about the human condition, suffering and salvation, riffing on gospel wisdom as much as they addressed the contemporary conversation of art.
The modern period also offered Christians in visual arts new challenges and new prospects. When art became abstract and conceptual, the forms and subjects replaced with more metaphysical discussions of spirituality and existence. Christian artists such as Georges Rouault and Marc Chagall borrowed from modernist practices to represent religion, mixing invention with spiritual study. Rouault’s heavy, black lines and light colours recalled stained glass while discussing pain and salvation.
It is also possible for Christian artists to work with non-Christian audiences, expressing their works outside of the church. By playing on subtle symbolism, universalism and evocation, these artists invite viewers to ponder higher issues of life, virtue and transcendence. And in so doing they provide a dialogue between sacred and profane art.
The Christian contribution to visual art is as much an act of taking part as it is of composing. They are part of the conversation around beauty, truth and meaning, showing us that art is not necessarily an antipode of religion and artistry. This ongoing work is helping keep Christian voices alive and thriving in the changing fabric of the visual arts and helps generations to see the world through the gaze of God’s majesty and meaning.