Visual Arts
Painting, sculpture, and architecture reveal the human response to beauty and orientation toward transcendence—the imago Dei expressed in creative work.
Sacred Art
Religious themes have dominated art history. From the catacombs to the Sistine Chapel, Christianity inspired the greatest art.
The Incarnation makes sacred art possible. Because God became visible in Christ, we can represent the divine in material form. Icons are windows to heaven.
- Christian Art: From catacombs to cathedrals—Christianity inspired the greatest art. The Renaissance was a flowering of Christian artistic vision.
- Icons and Images: Visual representation of the divine—the Incarnation makes God visible. 'He who has seen me has seen the Father.'
- Sacred Architecture: Cathedrals embody theology in stone—pointing upward to God. Gothic architecture lifts the eye and soul heavenward.
- Sacramental Vision: Art reveals the sacred in the ordinary. Hopkins: 'The world is charged with the grandeur of God.'
Art and the Imago Dei
Art reveals the human need for meaning and transcendence. We create because we are made in the image of the Creator.
Human creativity is a reflection of divine creativity. Tolkien called human artists 'sub-creators'—we make because we are made by a Maker.
- Beyond Utility: Art serves no survival function—yet all cultures create it. We are more than animals; we are artists.
- Symbolic Expression: Art expresses what words cannot—pointing toward ineffable realities. The objective-symbolic duality is embodied in visual form.
- Imago Dei: Human creativity reflects the Creator—we are made to make. The first thing we learn about God is that He creates.
- Redemption of Matter: Art sanctifies material—paint, stone, wood become vehicles of meaning. Matter is not evil but good, capable of bearing spirit.