Eastern Catholicism and Western art

[Peter_Gabriel]

Hello,

 I haven't been able to find much info on this - what is the relationship between Eastern Catholic Churches and the use of western style art i.e. baroque etc.  Is an Eastern Church allowed to have a painting of this style somewhere in the church, etc.  I think traditional icons are beautiful and there is certainly something special about them, however I have a great love for the art of the renaissance and baroque periods and find them spiritually enriching as well.  This is something I'm curious about as an artist.  I appreciate any insight,

Thanks,

Peter

 

[Aramis]

It varies by church.

The Byzantine churches would tend to avoid western style art in the nave and sanctuary… but individual parishes might have some elsewhere in the facility.

From what I’ve seen, the Copts would be pretty similar in approach.

 

[Alveus_Lacuna]

Western art forms took over the Orthodox world for the last several centuries. It was only in the 20th century that a massive effort was put into restoring traditional iconography, which for the most part seems to have been successful. It’s certainly a development I see as positive.

I wouldn’t know if there is more toleration for this in the Byzantine churches in communion with the Vatican/Old Rome. It seems to me that most of them are even more self conscious about these things than the Orthodox, as they endured many Latinizations and are thus sometimes more aware when things seem too “Western.”