Catholic holy pictures make me cringe

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nickybr38 said:
Oh… I know what you mean…

paintinghere.com/UploadPic/William_Bouguereau/big/The%20Virgin%20with%20Angels.jpg

-Hideous!

s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvflawodgb1r7rdcpo1_1280.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJ6IHWSU3BX3X7X3Q&Expires=1326578213&Signature=zXp1YAYa9g75rWoBAWwDHoz2f3k%3D

-Just ew…

allartclassic.com/img/Michelangelo_Merisi_da_Caravaggio_CAM001.jpg

-C’mon now… Jesus wasn’t that feminine…

… on a more serious note. 😉 I understand. I used to find a lot of it just… ugh… but what is beautiful to one person isn’t to another. Beauty is subjective. So we have all of this art. Some of it you might find beautiful, some of it you might not… but there’s enough out there that you can find the art that speaks to you and uplifts your heart to God at the same time.

On a side note, I was always disturbed by the bent crucifix that the Pope sometimes carries… These days I don’t mind it but it used to really weird me out!
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The first one is a matter of taste, I’ll grant you, but the other two are great works of art. The Pieta by Michelangelo? Eww? Are you serious? And just how would you depict the grieving Madonna and the Sacred Corpus? Seriously?
 
Many years ago MAD Magazine published the traditional effeminate portrait of Christ with the light brown hair and blue eyes. The difference between the MAD portrait and the usual simpering portrait was that Christ was busting a gut in a huge roaring belly laugh!
I am sure that MAD’s intent was sacrilegious, however I marveled at how wonderful it was, in that it beautifully showed Christ’s humanity!
I am sure that Christ could, and did laugh on occasion.
 
Della said:
The first one is a matter of taste, I’ll grant you, but the other two are great works of art. The Pieta by Michelangelo? Eww? Are you serious? And just how would you depict the grieving Madonna and the Sacred Corpus? Seriously?
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Michelangelo <3 But that’s my opinion. Not everyone will agree.
 
The Web Gallery of Art gives you access to thousands of Renaissance and later paintings of religious themes. Just enter the subject you’re interested in in the “Text” box and hit “Search.”

wga.hu/index.html

I guarantee you’ll find something there to suit you.
 
George_Stegmeir said:
Many years ago MAD Magazine published the traditional effeminate portrait of Christ with the light brown hair and blue eyes. The difference between the MAD portrait and the usual simpering portrait was that Christ was busting a gut in a huge roaring belly laugh!
I am sure that MAD’s intent was sacrilegious, however I marveled at how wonderful it was, in that it beautifully showed Christ’s humanity!
I am sure that Christ could, and did laugh on occasion.
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Two of my favorite authors had something to say about Jesus and laughter. Chesterton wrote that Jesus’ laugh was something he was saving until all things are accomplished and there is no longer any sin in the world–something along that line. And Tolkien I believe had the same thing in mind when he wrote about Gandalf laughing heartily after the defeat of Sauron.

I suppose Jesus laughed during is life on earth–he had a wry sense of humor, we know that. But, he came as the Suffering Servant. Perhaps that’s why the NT says nothing about it. There are some paintings of Jesus laughing and smiling. They’re all right, in their own way, but somehow I never found them compelling. I guess I’m waiting for the final redemption to know that unalloyed sense of joy, as well.
 
lil_flower_luv said:
I know it’s your opinion and you’re welcome to it–but talk about cringing–I am upset in learning a person can feel “hate” towards holy religious articles, save those who reject Christian beliefs and tradition altogether.
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Now you know I don’t mean hate literally - I mean it in the same way that kids hate broccoli!
 
petitfleur said:
I have felt the same way, I once saw a picture of Mary hanging laundry, with the Baby Jesus playing by her side. I thought that was lovely. But her crushing serpent heads…not something I would want displayed. It sounds like you had a lovely Nan.
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I think I know the one you mean. I love it, too. Try googling the artist Margaret Tarrant. I think the name of the painting is something like 'The Legend of the Rosemary. I think it comes from the old custom of hanging washing on a rosemary bush to sweeten and disinfect it.
 
Then theres this one. He doesn’t look too happy.
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Barbkw said:
I know it’s been 2,000 years, but Jews today as a race, have black hair and dark brown eyes.

Consider the holy pictures of Mary (blonde hair). Jesus with light brown hair.
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I know an awful lot of blonde-haired, blue-eyed Jews–redheads, also. I believe David had red hair.
 
nickybr38 said:
Oh… I know what you mean…

paintinghere.com/UploadPic/William_Bouguereau/big/The%20Virgin%20with%20Angels.jpg

-Hideous!

s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvflawodgb1r7rdcpo1_1280.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJ6IHWSU3BX3X7X3Q&Expires=1326578213&Signature=zXp1YAYa9g75rWoBAWwDHoz2f3k%3D

-Just ew…

allartclassic.com/img/Michelangelo_Merisi_da_Caravaggio_CAM001.jpg
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They are great pics/statues. They aren’t what I’m talking about LOL.
You can guess the ones I’m talking about.

This is what I have in my bedroom:
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Not the original unfortunately!

Actually - I used to go look at this picture about once a week in the National Gallery in London when I was going through University. Just looking at it kept me sane.
 
triumphguy said:
They are great pics/statues. They aren’t what I’m talking about LOL.
You can guess the ones I’m talking about.
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I know. I was just teasing you a little. 😉

But there is religious art that I can’t stand too. I would never EVER place it on my walls or put statues up in my home. I think this is really, really subjective. Nothing wrong with it. Nothing to be ashamed of. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it’s art! It’s not as if God lies within the painting or in the statue so you’re free to dislike it. 😃
 
And another
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I’m not one for having a lot of religious art in the house even though I’m a sculptor myself, but I do have a very, very small sepia print of the Sacred Heart in a little frame, which came from a jumble sale at little church in Shropshire and a St Francis crucifix (which is a painting in cruciform). I’d say if you wanted to get as close to reality, then I’d have the negative close-up of Our Lord’s face from the Turin Shroud, as others have said and for the Mother of God, it would have to be a very good print of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Everything else is going to be artist impression, so get searching through the last 2000 years of art history. I wish you well and “bon courage”. It’s your choice as I don’t know your aesthetic bent. I always thought the iconic painting of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour was just such a part of the Catholic family and so timeless. The quest you are on, I’m afraid, is vast. And now you’ve got me thinking about what I really want on my walls!
 
nickybr38 said:
But what is beautiful to one person isn’t to another. Beauty is subjective.
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Beauty in itself is dependent on objective moral truth to exist, and therefore not subjective. What you are describing is a person’s Aesthetic Sense, which is affected by our subjective experience in the world.

These sources will help:

Letter of His Holiness Pope John Paul II to Artists:

vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_23041999_artists_en.html

Letter of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to Artists:

vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2009/november/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20091121_artisti_en.html

KAIROS: The Sacrament of Iconography by Brother Aidan

ewtn.com/library/HOMELIBR/SACICON.TXT

Christian Art and Culture: Discusses the impact of Christian art on culture.

sensustraditionis.org/ChristianArtCulture.pdf
 
Sonic said:
Beauty in itself is dependent on moral truth to exist, and therefore not subjective. What you are describing is a person’s Aesthetic Sense, which is affected by our subjective experience in the world.

These sources will help:

b]Letter of His Holiness Pope John Paul II to Artists
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:

vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_23041999_artists_en.html

Letter of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to Artists:

vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2009/november/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20091121_artisti_en.html

KAIROS: The Sacrament of Iconography by Brother Aidan

ewtn.com/library/HOMELIBR/SACICON.TXT

Christian Art and Culture: Discusses the impact of Christian art on culture.

sensustraditionis.org/ChristianArtCulture.pdf

Way to confuse a girl… how can beauty be dependent objective morality?

A piece of music is not beautiful because it is moral… it is beautiful because the ear hearing it appreciates what it’s hearing.

A piece of art is not beautiful because it is moral… but because the eye seeing it appreciates it.

???
 
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