Since when did the divine world become so tangible? Does our respect for divine beings decrease whenever we try to portray them with human characteristics? That is for YOU to decide.
Throughout history, the way cultures are portraying higher powers and beings has always changed, but there is one aspect of religious art that in constantly sloping upwards: the palpability of divine beings. Many religions today have statues and paintings of their gods in which these higher beings are given a physical representation pertaining to the cultural values of that era. However, this was not always the case as other cultures portrayed spiritual figures through symbols instead...
ROOM 1: SYMBOLISM
This room encapsulates the respect certain religious artists give to their deities or gods. A main characteristic of all divine religious figures is that they have not been captured with photography before. How we choose to represent them is up to our own interpretation. These artworks show how artists portrayed these higher powers through symbols, choosing to not anthropomorphize what we have not seen.
Victory Stele of Naram-Sin (2254-2218 BCE)
CONTENT, FORM - The Akkadian Kingdom of Mesopotamia made sure to distinguish between humans and gods in artwork through the positioning and portrayal of these figures. The person who made this monument did so on a stele (stone slab), and they made the focal point obvious; the Akkadian king, Naram-Sin, is positioned above every soldier from both sides of the battle. The only figure above him is the sun, which symbolizes the Mesopotamian sun god, Shamash. Shamash being carved into the top of the stele represents how divine beings were above all humans, even the great Naram-Sin.
Hunefer's Judgement in the presence of Osiris (1275 BCE) | Hunefer
CONTENT, FORM -Egyptian art encapsulated the art of portraying gods through symbols. This faded papyrus page from Hunefer's Book of the Dead uses many aspects of Egyptian art: hieroglyphics, side-facing figures, and of course animal heads to represent deities. Egyptian artists and scribes did not seek out to make images as realistic as possible, so there was no need to make a human representation of the deities (Anubis on the far left is given the sacred canine head). Osiris, the god of the afterlife, has green skin Another symbol to pay attention to is the ankh one of the canines hold). The ankh is an Egyptian symbol for the key of life.
The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb (1432) | Jan van Eyck
CONTENT, FORM, CONTEXT - This image is part of a bigger painting known as the Ghent Altarpiece. A lamb stands in the middle of the scene upon which every human gazes. But why would an otherwise unimportant creature be the focal point of painting? That is because Jesus Christ is also known as the Lamb of God. Only a part of the Holy Trinity can garner as much directional force from both humans and angels. There is an implied shape of a circle around God in lamb form, signifying the desire of all onlookers to adore their savior. A clear divide between the divine and physical world is created when one notices how only the angels are close to the lamb, while the humans kneel further away.
Palette of King Narmer (3000-2920 BCE)
CONTENT, CONTEXT - This ancient artifact is an important piece of history in Egyptian culture. Usually, stone palettes were used in ancient Egypt as a tool for grinding minerals for daily use; however, this palette was special. It was a ceremonial offering to the gods; with the Egyptian goddess Bat being portrayed as a cow on the top right of the palette. This is a double-sided palette with even more heavy symbolism on both sides. The focal point of the side is King Narmer himself defeating an enemy. His victory over this one man is a reference to his successful unification of Northern and Southern Egypt.
ROOM 2: The Son of Man, The Mother of God
Carpenter, doctor, shepherd, king, son, father, criminal, teacher, human, God; all are words that can be used to describe what Jesus did during his time walking on earth. Artists and will go through great lengths to portray the miracles the pillar of Christianity has done according to the Bible. Jesus is one of the most unique religious figures, as he is seen as the bridge between the divine and humanity in Christianity. He is the also most portrayed individual in artwork globally, meaning that how he is portrayed is different according to the artist's cultural values. Mary, the Mother of Christ, is also someone important within Christian faith. We often see her being portrayed as someone willing to reach the divine world, despite being a mortal, human woman. These pieces are where the line between the spiritual and earthly realm becomes blurred in religious artwork.
Madonna and the Child with Canon van der Paele (1436) | Jan van Eyck
CONTEXT, CONTENT - Jan van Eyck's portrayal of the Virgin Mary (Madonna) with a baby Jesus encapsulates the realism of the Northern Renaissance. The mother and her child look very human when the context of the painting is unknown, which blurs the line between spiritual and human realms even further. In this scene, Mary is also in contact with St. Donatian and St. George, who she would have never met in person. A painting like this would be commissioned by patrons in order for them to have a religious figure portrayed in the way they desired.
La Ofrenda (1978) | Ester Hernandez
FORM - An image of the Virgin Mary resides in the middle of a woman's back, perhaps tattooed there. The vibrant, analogous colors of red and yellow help the image of Mary pop. Yellow is interpreted as a symbol of holiness, with halos and light from heaven sharing the same color. These analogous colors are a great contrast to the blue background and black hair of the woman. A battle between the vibrance of the focal point and the calmness of the backgrounds creates an even bigger emphasis on Mary.
Holy Trinity (1427) | Masaccio
FORM, CONTEXT - There is a clear use of symmetry in order to create perspective. The slight diminution makes the higher we go along the painting means that we have a bottom-up view of the scene. Masaccio also utilizes chiaroscuro to create shadowy and lightened spots within the painting (the tomb being a main dark area and the arch within the roof being brightened). The form within this painting provides the context of the change in artist. The Renaissance was in its early stages, and artwork was beginning to shift towards realism and naturalism. Jesus and even God would end up being portrayed in human form rather than symbols (such as the lamb or dove).
The Good Shepherd (425)
CONTENT - Jesus is typically the centerpiece of every artwork his is included in, this being no exception. In this scene, he is a shepherd surrounded by sheep who all look towards him. While Jesus is often referred to as the Lamb of God, his relationship with humans is described through the analogy of him being a shepherd and us as his sheep. The dynamic created in this artwork makes the line between the divine and human stronger by portraying humans as a lesser being to Jesus.
Room 3: The Body of the Divine
No divine being will have their beauty fully captured through artwork. But artists will try.
David (1440) | Donatello
CONTEXT, FORM - David is by no means a spiritual being in the Bible, however, he is from the Old Testament. He was likely a real person, but the lack of eyewitness testimony allowed Donatello to have a degree of artistic freedom when portraying him. The Bible describes David as a small boy in his fight with Goliath, but cultural influences encouraged Donatello to sculpt him in an androgynous form. David being naked is also an aspect of Renaissance art, which recaptured the Roman love for the human body. The stance in which David is in is contrapposto, so he shifts all of his weight onto one foot.
Venus of Urbino (1538) | Titian
CONTEXT, FORM - The identity of the woman in the painting is still up to debate for historians, but the figure Titian was trying to use as reference for her. Titian uses the Roman goddess, Venus, as the basis of painting a beautiful, young woman. The main emphasis of the painting is not the context or content, however. It is the feeling of sensuality the nude woman brings that Titian is focusing on. He uses seductive colors, such as gold and red, to set the mood for the painting. The lighting created by Titian emphasizes her nudity, especially in contrast to the warmer colors of the bedding and background.
Aphrodite of Knidos (350 BCE)
FORM - This sculpture is created from marble that was smoothened (although it has cracked throughout the years). The size and anatomy of the sculpture signifies the artist's desire to make a lifelike figure of the goddess, Aphrodite. The goddess of beauty was put into human form, so the artist naturally sculpted according to the beauty standards of Rome at the time. The figure is in the normal contrapposto stance of the time, and she is still covering her most intimate portion of the female body.
Tomb of Tutankhamun (1323 BCE)
CONTEXT, CONTENT - Egyptian pharaohs were seen as the gateway between the spiritual and human realm, so their tombs with the intent of preserving the body of the spiritual leaders for as long as possible. King Tut himself garnered even more power to the pharaoh during his reign, hence why he is a notorious figure when studying the history of ancient Egypt. The actual content of the tomb signifies the importance of a pharaoh. King Tut was buried with the crook and flail, which is a symbol of the authority of a pharaoh that is derived from the gods. There are also the gods Isis and Nephthys on the actual burial mask itself. To Egyptians, a pharaoh's death is more of a reunion with the gods for which they shared the responsibility of society with.
Art has been used to strengthen the relationships between cultures and their religious beings. Every major faith has ingrained structures and art meant to either pay homage or communicate with beings that are outside the human realm. With every new art movement, there is a new emphasis on religious art. Some try to recreate their gods in sculptures and paintings. Others seek to pay respect by not even attempting to anthropomorphize these beings. There is no objectively correct way to portray aspects of our religion, just like how there is no objectively correct faith at all. The only truth is that religion will constantly be a fundamental aspect of art, and every religion has a beauty within their own unique portrayals. These three rooms are a testament to that.