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.
The visual arts were an important medium for Christian discourse, especially in the medieval period, when literacy was low and images were the chief means of transmission of sacred messages. Eastern Orthodox iconography and Gothic cathedral windows show powerful ways in which artists translated deep theological principles into visual language. They were not ornaments; they were vessels of worship, prayer and instruction, the creation of a shared experience of Christian teaching and the bible.
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.
Later centuries in the Baroque saw the likes of Caravaggio and Bernini play with flashes of light and darkness to call out a divine mystery and grace. They were also works that tried to invoke wonder and devotion – a feature of the Counter-Reformation’s focus on art’s emotional and pedagogical force. Their works’ extreme realness and brusque spirituality enticed their readers to consider faith, crossing the threshold between sacred and corporeal.
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 visionary has not abandoned community or collaboration. : Christian artists can show work and talk to each other about faith and creativity through art groups, galleries and organisations. These platforms inspire collective purpose, wherein artists are challenged to push the limits of culture but never lose their spiritual core.
After all, Christians’ greatest legacy in the visual arts is that they drew people towards God. From ancient mosaics to modern sculptures, they are always seeking beyond the earthly world to the transcendent. As Christians combined religion with greatness of art, they fertilised the cultural horizons and offered eternal meditations on the human condition.