Essay 7a: Faith and Belief

ESSAY 7a 

"Saint in Orant Pose, From Ivories of the So-Called Grado Chair, Eastern Mediterranean or Egypt, 7th-8th century, 10.3 × 8.3 × 0.8 cm, Musée National du Moyen Âge, Thermes et Hôtel de Cluny, Paris ( Cl. 1932 ), Image: Thierry Ollivier, Réunion des Musées Nationaux / Art Resource, NY." (Saint in Orant Pose )

ESSAY TITLE: Faith and Belief

QUESTION: Is Art in any way, an intrinsic part of, or a primary factor in religion or religious expression and if so, how did it specifically play a part in the development of Christianity?

PART ONE

SUMMARY:  Art plays an important part in all aspects of life.  Art was used to express a story or enhance upon words.  The same icons were used and recycled to have a similar meaning for Christianity. 

REASON:  The reason for this question is to look into how art has evolved from one period into another.  

PURPOSE:  The purpose is to get us to think outside of the box.  To see what is considered Christian art and where its origins came from.

DIRECTION:  The ‘David Plates’ were striking and so that was the direction I decided to go.  There has to be choices made of where to start and where to end.  Art and religion are so intertwined it is difficult to choose what to talk about.  I chose one area to stay focused and not go into too many different directions.

IMPRESSIONS:  I think people of each time want to find their own meaning in each representation.  If I stand with my arms outstretched do I have a specific meaning?  For me I would open my arms as in welcome.  This is one of the things that has followed through in time.

PART TWO

ANSWER:  Art is a visual story. In 1902 they unearthed nine “David Plates” in Cyprus. (Art History, Marilyn Stokstad/Michael W. Cothren, Fourth Edition/volumn 1, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., page 217) “One of the ‘David Plates’ made in Constantinople, 629-630 CE. Silver, diameter 19 ^7/8” (49.4 cm).  Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York” (Art History text, page 216)

The plate tells a story, it is the story of David and Goliath.  The artist depicted the battle in the center of the plate and it is larger than the rest of the scenes.  The battle is brought to the forefront and given a greater place of importance.  “It may be surprising to see a Judeo-Christian subject portrayed in a style that was developed for the exploits of Classical heroes, but this mixture of traditions is typical of the eclecticism characterizing the visual arts as the Christianized Roman world became the Byzantine Empire.  Patrons saw no conflict between the artistic principles of the pagan past and the Christian teaching undergirding their imperial present.  To them, this Jewish subject, created for a Christian patron in a pagan style, would have attracted notice only because of its sumptuousness and its artistic virtuosity.” (Art History text, page 217)   Although these plates were commissioned for an individual patron, it is an example of storytelling.  The story of David and Goliath is in the Bible in the First book of Samuel Chapter 17, and to those who couldn’t read this is a great way to get a message across.

“The earliest Christians gathered to worship in private apartments or houses, or in buildings constructed after domestic models such as the third-century church-house excavated at Dura-Europos.  As their rites became more ritualized and complicated, however, Christians developed special buildings- churches and baptisteries-as well as specialized important stories and ideas.  The earliest surviving Christian art dates to the early third century and derives its styles and its imagery from Jewish and Roman visual traditions.  In this process, known as syncretism, artist assimilate images from other traditions and give them new meaning.  The borrowings can be unconscious or quite deliberate.”  (Art History text, page 222)  The explanation goes on further to talk about the orant figures.  The worshipers that had their arms spread out.  Depending on what belief system we are talking about there could be different meaning.  “In pagan art, he was Apollo, or Hermes the shepherd, or Orpheus among the animals, or a personification of philanthropy.  For Early Christians, he became the Good Shepherd of Psalms (Psalm 23) and the Gospels (Matthew 18:12-14, John 10:11-16).  Such images, therefore, do not have a stable meaning, but are associated with the meaning(s) that a particular viewer brings to them.  They remind rather than instruct.”  (Art History text, page 222)  The last sentence is an important one.  The art is a reminder of the stories that are part of the religion. 

Art and its Contexts (Art History text, page 231) This page has a detailed description of different events with the biblical stories.  An example of one: “Tribute Money: Challenged to pay the temple tax, Jesus sends Peter to catch a fish which turns out to have the required coin in its mouth. (Mat 17:24-27, Lk 20:20-25)” 

Art is still used as a visual aid to teach religion.  As the saying states “a picture is worth a thousand words.”  We can analyze each piece of religious art and see something different each time we look at it.  We might see something that is ‘Pagan’ or we might see something that is ‘Jewish’ or we might see something that leans towards the ‘Islam’ beliefs.  It might have been created to show a ‘Christian’ story.  As we have learned each generation takes something from the one before.  Art would have been around before Christianity and so they would have found meaning in what had come before.  Each religion could have embraced what had been created and made it their own.  It is the same with the different Christian religions today, there may be similar beliefs and they may use some of the same art; however, they might have a slight interpretation on the meaning of some of the pieces.  It would take a theologian to be able to understand all the different sub contexts of the differing ideals.