Christian Art, Architecture and Music LEARNING STRAND: HUMAN EXPERIENCE RELIGIOUS EDUCATION PROGRAMME FOR CATHOLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND 12G THE LOGO The logo is an attempt to express Faith as an inward and outward journey. This faith journey takes us into our own hearts, into the heart of the world and into the heart of Christ who is God’s love revealed. In Christ, God transforms our lives. We can respond to his love for us by reaching out and loving one another. The circle represents our world. White, the colour of light, represents God. Red is for the suffering of Christ. Red also represents the Holy Spirit. Yellow represents the risen Christ. The direction of the lines is inwards except for the cross, which stretches outwards. Our lives are embedded in and dependent upon our environment (green and blue) and our cultures (patterns and textures). Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ, is represented by the blue and white pattern. The blue also represents the Pacific… Annette Hanrahan RSCJ Cover photograph: Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Christchurch / Diocese of Christchurch Christian Art, Architecture and Music LEARNING STRAND: HUMAN EXPERIENCE 12G Above: Cast bronze screen doors of the tabernacle / Sculptor: Ria Bancroft / Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Christchurch © 2014 National Centre for Religious Studies First published 1991 No part of this document may be reproduced in any way, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, without the prior permission of the publishers. Imprimatur + Colin Campbell DD Bishop of Dunedin Conference Deputy for National Centre for Religious Studies September 2007 Authorised by the New Zealand Catholic Bishops’ Conference. Design & Layout: Devine Graphics PO Box 5954 Dunedin New Zealand Published By: National Centre for Religious Studies Catholic Centre PO Box 1937 Wellington New Zealand Printed By: Printlink 33–43 Jackson Street Petone Private Bag 39996 Wellington Mail Centre Lower Hutt 5045 Māori terms are italicised in the text. The first time a Māori term appears in the text, its English meaning appears in brackets after it. A Māori glossary at the back of the book gives a more detailed explanation of these terms and provides a guide for their pronunciation. CONTENTS Part One: Christianity and the Arts 2 Task One ………………………........................................…………………………… page 3 Task Two ………………………........................................…………………………… page 3 Task Three ………………………........................................…………………………… page 7 Task Four ………………………........................................…………………………… page 8 Part Two: The Early Church 9 Task Five ………………………........................................…………………………… page 11 Task Six ………………………........................................…………………………… page 11 Task Seven ………………………........................................…………………………… page 12 Part Three: The Church Goes Public 13 Task Eight ………………………........................................…………………………… page 14 Task Nine ………………………........................................…………………………… page 15 Task Ten ………………………........................................…………………………… page 15 Part Four: Byzantine Art, Architecture and Music 16 Task Eleven ………………………........................................…………………………… page 16 Task Twelve ………………………........................................…………………………… page 17 Part Five: Barbarians and Reformers 19 Task Thirteen ………………………........................................…………………………… page 22 Part Six: Gothic Art and Architecture 23 Task Fourteen ………………………........................................…………………………… page 23 Task Fifteen ………………………........................................…………………………… page 25 Part Seven: The Renaissance 25 Task Sixteen ………………………........................................…………………………… page 27 Task Seventeen ………………………........................................…………………………… page 28 Part Eight: Reformations 29 Task Eighteen ………………………........................................…………………………… page 30 Task Nineteen ………………………........................................…………………………… page 32 Part Nine: Nineteenth Century Revivals 33 Task Twenty ………………………........................................…………………………… page 33 Task Twenty-One ………………………........................................…………………………… page 35 Part Ten: Christian Art and Architecture in Aotearoa New Zealand – The First Century 38 Task Twenty-Two ………………………........................................…………………………… page 39 and Music Christian Art, Architecture Task Twenty-Three ………………………........................................…………………………… page 43 Part Eleven: After the Second Vatican Council 44 Task Twenty-Four ………………………........................................…………………………… page 45 Summary 47 Glossary of Māori Terms ………………………........................................……………………….. page 48 Acknowledgements ………………………........................................…………………………… page 50 1 Part One: Christianity and the Arts Focus: • Art, architecture and music are among the richest expressions of the human spirit, conveying the full range of human experience. • Men and women are formed in God’s own image and share in God’s creativity. • Human artists are gifted with the ability to reveal something of the mystery of God to others and to lead them closer to God. • Over two thousand years, Christianity has been the single most important influence on the development of Western art, architecture and music. • Throughout its history the Church has used the various arts to communicate and develop the Christian faith. Expressions of the God – Creator and Artist Human Spirit The opening chapter of the Bible shows God as Creator, delighting in everything that God has made: Art, architecture and music are among the richest expressions of the human spirit. Through their use God saw everything that he had made, and of image, symbol, or sound these art forms convey indeed, it was very good. (Genesis 1:31) the full range of human experience – people’s deepest emotions and most important ideas. God takes delight especially in men and women who are formed in God’s own image: Art, architecture and music can: So God created humankind in his image, in • show us something of what God is like the image of God he created them; male and • be a way to human freedom female he created them. (Genesis 1:27) • remind us of the infinite scope of the human imagination By giving men and women stewardship over the • be signs of hope earth, God invites humankind to share in God’s own inventiveness: • be sources of comfort for the suffering and the oppressed God blessed them, and God said to them, • fill the empty spaces in our homes, workplaces, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and routines, and lives subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of • provide an escape from the present moment the sea and over the birds of the air and over • give an insight into other times and other every living thing that moves upon the earth.’ cultures (Genesis 1:28) • celebrate the human body and human desire Something to Discuss Read through the list above of the different things that art, music and architecture are capable of expressing. Can you identify particular works of art, buildings or pieces of music that fulfil any of these functions? Something to Think About What other aspects of human experience do great works of art, great buildings or great GETTY IMAGES pieces of music express? Hands of God and Adam, detail from The Creation of Adam, Christian Art, Architecture and Music Christian Art, Architecture from the Sistine Ceiling, 1511 (fresco) (post-restoration) - Buonarroti, Michelangelo (1475-1564) Art noun Any objects or activities in which people We are God’s work of art, created express feelings and ideas about life by giving in Christ Jesus to live the good life. them some imaginative form. (Ephesians 2:10) 2 God is the greatest of artists, who hands on to human artists something of his own creativity. As John Paul II puts it: With loving regard, the divine Artist passes on to human artists a spark of his own surpassing wisdom, calling them to share in his creative power. all men and women are entrusted with the task of crafting their own life: in a certain sense, they are to make of it a work of art, a masterpiece. (John Paul II – Letter to Artists, 1 and 2) Task One Explain in your own words what Pope John Paul II is saying in the above passage from his Letter to Artists. The Artistic Vocation In the Christian understanding, men and women who are called to be poets, writers, sculptors, painters, architects, musicians or actors have in them a “divine spark” which enables them to make beautiful things in the service of God, of the Church, and of the people among whom they live. Through their work, artists are able to reveal something of the mystery of God to others. Genuine works of art can lead people closer to God in many ways: • by lifting their spirits • by helping them to pray • by strengthening them in faith, hope and love Pieta (marble), Buonarroti, Michelangelo (1475-1564) GETTY IMAGES / St. Peter’s, Vatican, Rome, Italy Art, Architecture and Music in the Christian Tradition In the two thousand years since the birth of Jesus, Christianity has been the single most important influence in the development of art, architecture and music in the Western world. Throughout its history the Church has used the various arts to communicate and develop the Christian faith, providing them with much of their subject matter. The Christian attitude to religious art is very different to that