Catholic Art

[ppcpilot]

What do you think of Catholic Art/Statues, etc…? Do you think the representations of Jesus as an Anglo-Saxon type are correct? Same thing with Mary?

I always wondered about this…it just doesn’t seem correct

 

[space_ghost]

remember… these statues are there only to remind you of the faithful who lived, struggeled, and in several cases gave their lives for the faith and the Church that Christ established on this earth. I have never met anyone who tried to pass them off as an exact representation of the person it represents… majoring on minors I think… I am white but I have seen black statues in churches whose parishoners are primarilly black, and I see no harm or reason that it should be any other way… diversity is great, and God is the father of diversity…

 

[SeanG]

I suppose a work of art that depicts Jesus and Mary as something other than a first century resident of the Holy Land could be considered ‘incorrect’ if one viewed such work of art only as some of historical document.

But works of art are primarily historical documents for the time period in which they were created. They first tell us something about the artists who created them and the other people who lived in that time and place.

In any case, artistry, by its very nature, allows artists an ‘artistic license.’ They are ordinarily first works of a person’s imagination, not the product of historical research separated from the imagination (i.e., artists may delve into historical research but only in service to their artistic imagination).

 

[Dr.Colossus]

Something that came to mind while I was reading this thread is that the Juan Diego’s tilma, with the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, depicts her as a young hispanic woman. Since the Church has deemed this an authentic miracle, I think it may be God’s way of showing that representing the Saints as being the same as our own ethnicity or heritage is a wonderful way of demonstrating the universality of the Church.

 

[Mijoy2]

Dr. Colossus:

Something that came to mind while I was reading this thread is that the Juan Diego’s tilma, with the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, depicts her as a young hispanic woman. Since the Church has deemed this an authentic miracle, I think it may be God’s way of showing that representing the Saints as being the same as our own ethnicity or heritage is a wonderful way of demonstrating the universality of the Church.

Interesting observation. Makes me wonder, following the second coming, when we are resurrected with our glorified immutable perfect bodies, will we lose our sense of ethnicity? We will all merge into one race (of sorts). Sure hope I grow some hair

 

[Dr.Colossus]

From my understanding, we will be given our same bodies back, only glorified. This means that anyone who knows us now would be able to recognize us when we are resurrected. Think of the Transfiguration. Christ’s clothing became a dazzling white, and His face became radiant, but the Apostles still saw that it was Him.