Sacred Art 101 (2 of 4): Examples
Introduction
In our previous post, we proposed a framework for analyzing works of art. We drew distinctions among a work’s style, subject matter, and mode and found that each of these orthogonal attributes had its own set of distinctions (Illusionistic vs. Stylized, Natural vs. Non-natural, Realistic vs. Idealized), forming a three-dimensional matrix in which any work of art can be located.
It is time to make all these distinctions clear with examples from art history. Let’s go one by one through each module of the grid. To keep things simple, we’ll focus on Western painting from the Middle Ages to the present. For right now, these need not be sacred or even religious-themed pieces, although in the third and fourth posts in this series we will put our matrix to work in exploring both.
Examples
Subject: Natural | Style: Illusionistic | Mode: Realistic
The Wood Gatherer, by Jules Bastien-Lepage (1881)
The subject matter of this painting is very this-worldly, with an emphasis on the individuality of the peasants, the filth of their clothes, their mundane activities, etc. While some painterly effects in the brushwork are visible, the artist is clearly trying to hew closely to the forms as they do or would appear in nature, without distorting proportions or simplifying the dense tangle of undergrowth.
Subject: Natural | Style: Illusionistic | Mode: Idealized
Mona Lisa, by Leonardo da Vinci (ca. 1503)
Like The Wood Gatherer, the Mona Lisa depicts an earthly subject using techniques that are faithful to the natural physics of light and the natural proportions of form. The reason the painting is so famous, however, is that its subject lacks the particularity we expect in a portrait. In a subtle manner that has eluded precise analysis by commentators down the centuries, the woman seems to represent an idea more than a flesh-and-blood person, with her uncanny smile embodying the archetype of an emotion that is intuitively sensed but difficult to describe.
Subject: Natural | Style: Stylized | Mode: Realistic
Snow in New York, by Robert Henri (1902)
To see how a painting in the Realistic mode need not look like a photograph, consider Robert Henri’s Snow in New York. Here, the loose brushwork and abstract approach to the subject convey a high degree of Stylization (according to the established conventions of Impressionism, to be precise). The scene depicted, however, is one that would be familiar to his era’s day-to-day experience, with a Realist emphasis on the imperfection of the old buildings and the filthy, horse-trampled snow.
Subject: Natural | Style: Stylized | Mode: Idealized
St. Martin and the Beggar, by El Greco (ca. 1598)
Here, El Greco is depicting an ostensibly historical event from the life of St. Martin of Tours, when, seeing a beggar on the side of the road, Martin stopped and gave him half of his tunic. Later, Martin had a dream in which it was revealed that the beggar had been Christ in disguise.
Despite the religious and allegorical themes, there is nothing unnatural or even overtly supernatural about this scene. On the story’s own terms, Martin saw nothing out of the ordinary in his initial encounter with the beggar. El Greco emphasizes this by depicting Martin wearing not the loose drapery often associated with images of saints in glory but the contemporary clothing of his era.
Nevertheless, the painting is highly stylized, with the figures evincing El Greco’s trademark elongation of form and simplified lighting.
Finally, despite some particularism in the portrayal of the saint’s armor, the bodies are evocative of conceptual ideals rather than of individual people we might see walking down the street. This is especially true of the beggar, which was surely an intentional ploy by the artist to highlight the universal presence of Christ in the individual poor.
Subject: Non-natural | Style: Illusionistic | Mode: Realistic
Sacrifice of Isaac, attr. to Caravaggio (ca. 1598)
In this rendition of the famous Old Testament story, often attributed to Caravaggio, a divine messenger brings Abraham a command from God. The raking light from an otherworldly source and the winged being are visual indicators of the fundamentally Supernatural character of the scene. Nevertheless, there is a strong sense of individuality to the figures, including the ram. Each of the characters, even the angel, looks like someone one might meet on the street, and the meticulous detail work, down to the separate hairs in Abraham’s beard and the prominent seam on the sleeve, focuses relentlessly on the particular. Of course, all this Supernatural Realism is rendered in Caravaggio’s trademark Illusionistic style.
For an example of something in this module that is Unnatural rather than Supernatural, see Tony Sart’s painting Fantasy Is Now. Clearly, this scene is not taking place in our natural universe, and, despite some painterly effects, the style unambiguously falls on the Illusionistic side of the spectrum. Nevertheless, the emphasis is on the individuality of the various orcs, trolls, and other creatures (rather than on orcness or trollness per se), and the imperfections of the dirty subway car are presented in exquisite detail. Thus, despite the fantastic subject matter, the mode is Realistic.
Subject: Non-natural | Style: Illusionistic | Mode: Idealized
Apotheosis of St. Ignatius, by Andrea Pozzo (ca. 1690)
Humans resting on clouds, swirling drapery defying gravity, and winged cherubs frolicking in mid-air clearly establish that this dramatic painting is designed to help the viewer appreciate supernatural truths rather than purely natural beauty. In addition, the figures’ muscular torsos, simplified clothing, and Classically proportioned facial features all reflect a high degree of Idealization. Still, the striking trompe l’oeil style is Illusionistic—indeed, the artist evidently intends to give the viewer the illusion that the ceiling of the church has literally fallen away to reveal a glimpse of figures in celestial glory.
For an example of an Illusionistic, Idealized painting that is Unnatural, see this concept piece for Total War: Warhammer 2 by Diego Gisbert Llorens. The mythical creature and hovering ziggurats place the scene squarely in another universe, with an emphasis on the romantic beauty of its landscape and the perfect form of the flying beast. Even the soldier seems to be an archetype. Still, the style is clearly designed to give the viewer a sense of what it would be like actually to witness such a spectacle. The painting is thus Illusionistic, as is appropriate for the immersive video-game genre for which it was created.
Subject: Non-natural | Style: Stylized | Mode: Realistic
Posthumous Miracle of St. Stephen, attr. to the circle of Blasco da Grañén (15th c.)
In this painting, a long-dead saint has appeared and is depicted in the act of raising corpses to life, certainly a Non-natural subject. The golden sky imparts a Supernatural cast to the extraordinary event, and the artistic aesthetic is highly Stylized, with the figures and architectural perspective systematically distorted according to the conventions of late Medieval illustration. Nevertheless, the facial features of the figures are unique and generally removed from any accepted ideals of human beauty, a particularism heightened by the detailed and highly individuating depiction of fifteenth-century clothing, representing different social classes, worn by the on-lookers.
For an example of a Stylized, Realistic piece that is Unnatural, see Ilari Gröhn’s painting entitled [2089-07-18 11:38 log_entry 2574: 0 life forms detected]. The green sky, magenta smoke, and general science-fiction vibe locate the scene in the realm of imaginative fantasy (even if it is ostensibly our own universe in the distant future), and the loose digital brushwork represents a highly Stylized approach reminiscent of traditional Impressionism. Nevertheless, the trash-strewn landscape, rusted hulls, and dilapidated infrastructure emphasize the particularity and imperfections of real experience.
Subject: Non-natural | Style: Stylized | Mode: Idealized
The Wilton Diptych, anonymous (ca. 1395)
Much Medieval Christian art, as well as Eastern Iconography, falls into this module. A good example from Western Europe is the Wilton Diptych. The retinue of angels and perspective-free golden backdrop ground the subject in the Supernatural realm, and the figures are highly Stylized per the conventions of late Medieval art (large heads, beady eyes, spindly fingers, etc.). Despite their systematic distortion, however, the figures are simultaneously highly Idealized. Note how the carefully balanced facial features of the saints on the left are virtually identical to each other, as are the faces of each of the angels. The saints hold or wear unique attributes that identify them, but the emphasis is on the glorified holiness that they share and not on their earthly individuality.
For an example of a work from this module that is Unnatural, see Three Spirits Mad with Joy, by Warwick Goble. The illustration depicts creatures from the realm of imagination using a Stylized aesthetic characterized by prominent outlining and simplified coloring. Meanwhile, every attempt has been made to abstract away from the blemishes and imperfections of any given flower-fairy (if they were to exist) in order to convey the essence of “flower-fairiness” as the artist conceives it.
What’s Next
Hopefully these examples have helped to clarify the meaning of the terms and framework we proposed in the previous post. In the next post, we’ll put these distinctions to use in analyzing the different ways that Eastern and Western Christianity have represented the Sacred throughout history.