“A revival of Gothic art was not limited to late 19th and early 20th century Christian sacred art.” Art can serve many functions. I believe the primary function of the gift of artistic talent is the same as all of the gifts of the Spirit, to build up the KingdomContinue Reading
“the purpose of the Gothic form is to draw the viewer into the Christian story.” Art fulfills a function. That function changes with the needs of society and culture in any given time period. In reviving the Gothic form for today we need to make sure that whatever we doContinue Reading
“If we are to make the Gothic artform relevant to today’s faithful we have to start with what is needed.” Copy or Adapt? Reviving the Gothic artform to meet the needs of the Church today is somewhat more complicated than it initially appears. We do not want to simply copyContinue Reading
“To enter a Gothic church was to enter into salvation history.” The Iconographic In the first half of the 20th century a Russian artist was having a conversation with a friend about traditional sacred art, what we would today call iconography. The two great centers of this type of artContinue Reading
“a work of art may speak deeply to the heart of an individual” The Abbey in the Oakwood As artists, how do we convey timeless religious themes to an audience that has largely forsaken religion for the vague notion of spirituality? How do we render Christian images of faith andContinue Reading
“as we travel the nave from west to east we are traveling through salvation history” The Gothic writ large In studying the Gothic style, with the aim of restoring it as a living tradition, we are sometimes faced with the challenge of finding liturgical examples. Byzantine iconography is relatively easyContinue Reading
There is a longstanding discussion among sacred artists regarding whether or not the Holy Trinity should be represented in art and if so what is the most appropriate way to do so. The Iconographic The argument against representing the Trinity usually centers around God the Father. The second person ofContinue Reading
“By His Ascension He is now always everywhere.” The Ascension of the Lord is a Solemnity in the calendar of the Church, a feast-day of the highest rank. By the 11th century several different patterns had developed to depict the event. The elements common to all the compositions are theContinue Reading
“Depictions of the Last Judgement in the neo-Gothic, are striking for what they leave out.” The Salisbury Doom One of the most prevalent Western iconographic images is “The Last Judgement.” In England these were called “Doom” paintings and often adorned the west wall of the church. This is the doorContinue Reading
“borders… are just as important within the composition to help the viewer understand the work.” Continuing in a series of posts intended to offer guidelines in renewing the Gothic style, let us consider the division spaces within the composition. While sacred art draws us into sacred time, the imageContinue Reading