Some art forms over the centuries lend themselves more readily than others to expressing the sacred. Moreover, those art forms born of the faith in various ages emphasize different aspects of the same faith.
We can see, for example, the emphasis on the heavenly realm that iconography depicts in its sacred artwork. Especially in light of the centuries of persecution the Church experienced—that time in which living a life of faith remained hidden—one can understand iconography as a bold proclamation of the heavenly home to which all souls strive. When martyrdom became a less likely experience under Constantine’s rule, the proclamation of Christ’s promise of eternal life—the depiction of heaven and those who have gone before us in faith communicated so prominently in icons—emerged as a principal sacred art form and remained such for a millennium.
In the era of Christendom—situated historically between the iconographic expressions of early Christianity and the later Baroque expressions of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries which arose amid rupture within the Body of Christ—a faith-imbued culture flourished. Its expression is the Gothic form (mid-12th to end of 16th century), most often seen in architecture, emphasizing God’s goodness, majesty, and our daily participation in his triune life.
While iconography serves to focus on heaven, as if God were drawing the faithful to himself through prayer, in the Baroque one can see that God wants also to break into our lives with his grace, a reality that needed emphasis after the wound of separation that the Church suffered. Artists of the Counter-Reformation unveiled God’s heavenly realm, revealing a Church Triumphant among the Church Militant. The wound of separation that the Church suffered in the Reformation gave way to artists reminding the faithful of God’s supremacy.
These three forms of sacred art—the iconographic, the Gothic, and the Baroque—are highlighted by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in his book, The Spirit of the Liturgy. While considering the state of sacred art today, he outlines the historical contributions to the contemporary crisis in faith and reminds us to return to a faith that sees. “Wherever that exists,” he explains, “art finds its proper expression.”
Worship, in turn, informs and instructs the culture which gives rise to art forms that express a lived faith. Do the varying emphases of different sacred art forms imitate the form of worship in which the faith was lived? The pre-Tridentine form of the Mass would correspond, according to Ratzinger, with two of the better sacred art forms—the iconographic and the Gothic. The Tridentine form of the Mass finds expression in the Baroque art form born from the Counter-Reformation, marking its beginnings roughly fifty years after the Council of Trent. This art form was informed by the Missal of Pius V and was diffused throughout the wider culture for roughly 150 years.
Once more the faithful are living within sixty years of a Church council, and we are living our faith informed by the Missal of Paul VI. Artists willing to serve the Church are increasing each year, as evidenced by young organizations such as the Catholic Art Institute in Chicago, and the recent rise in the production and display of sacred art throughout the country. While sacred artists seem poised to once again influence the wider culture, what might art forms flowing from the experience of the Church in the era of the Novus Ordo Mass emphasize?
The Real Presence is something that I have focused on as an artist. In light of the recent Eucharistic Congress, there exists a need to continue fostering belief among Catholics in the Real Presence, the means by which, along with the other sacraments, Christ remains with us always.
We can also discern a need to focus on the dignity of every human person, as evidenced in the writings and example of St. John Paul II. Moreover, the need for strong families and the protection that the Holy Family provides suggest an emphasis on Mary as our Mother and the role of St. Joseph. Finally, the need to evangelize is highlighted in the sending out of the faithful at the end of every Mass to go and spread the Gospel. These emphases parallel in large part the life of Christ himself. Just before dying he gave us his mother (John 19:27) and it was just before his ascension that he promised to remain with us always, commanding us to go make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19-20).
Expressing these truths in sacred art in today’s relativistic society is a noble task. This New Evangelization to bring faith to what has been called a post-Christian world requires all simplicity—easily understood but adhering to the truth and engaging its viewers. If the artists during the Baroque period were instrumental in fortifying the Church after the Protestant Reformation, could the artists of today be instrumental in bringing about Christ’s presence among the people, and his desire for unity, “that they may be one, as we are one” (John 17:22)? The next 150 years may tell.
