Finally! There may be some adjustments still to make, but we have been working on a scriptural index for Art&Faith Matters posts. If you look above the date of this post you'll see tabs for Hebrew scripture, Christian scripture, and the liturgical calendar. The scripture tabs are self-explanatory. The calendar tab is for posts that may look at a particular day in general (multiple Gospel versions of Jesus praying in Gethsemane, for example).
We hope this will be helpful for you.
Celebrating our creative and living God by generating art and architecture resources for congregations and individuals.
Saturday, February 8, 2020
Sunday, February 2, 2020
I Corinthians 2.1-16: The Mind of God...Maybe
Who has known the mind of the Lord? asks Paul. (I Corinthians 2:16) Paul's question follows comments about wisdom - God's wisdom - and human understanding. Paul's phrasing seems to imply that no one has known the mind of God, though, he says, we have the mind of Christ. How could we human creatures possibly know the mind of God, or imagine that we, with our limited human understanding, could possibly think to instruct God. However, it doesn't stop people from wondering about the mind of God.
Michelangelo Buonorroti. Creation of Adam. Fresco. 1508-1512. Vatican: Sistine Chapel.
Michelangelo Buonorroti might be one of those people who was wondering. We're used to seeing Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling frescoes. The hands of Adam and God reaching out to one another have inspired movie posters (think E.T.), coffee mugs, t-shirts, and more. But recently the question as been asked if we've been missing a message left by Michelangelo all those centuries ago.
Does the Sistine Chapel ceiling show us the mind of God? Or at least the brain of God?
Here's a brain.
Do you think the flowing pink fabric behind God is designed and placed in such a way that it echoes the shape of the brain? We know that Michelangelo studied anatomy by dissecting corpses when he was as young as 18. Corpses of criminals were allowed to be dissected, and the artist reportedly received cadavers from the hospital at the Monastery of Santo Spirito in Florence, Italy. He also received special permission for additional anatomical study of cadavers. He probably knew what the brain looked like. Is this the artist's way of letting us see the mind of God active in the days of creation?
We do see the mind of God in creation, as we see the mind of any artist in the works they produce. What does the creation - here, the creation of human beings - tell us about the mind of God?
If you want to read more about this idea, search the internet for Michelangelo and concealed neuroanatomy.
For thoughts on Isaiah 58:1-12, click here.
For thoughts about salt in general (not specifically the Matthew passage), click here.
For thoughts on Matthew 5:15-16, see Art&Faith Matters on Facebook.
Sunday, January 26, 2020
Micah 6:1-8: Nailed It!
God has shown you, humans, what is good (Micah 6:1-8). You've seen it. Now be it. It seems easy enough, that you should be able to copy what you see. To do justice. To love mercy. To walk humbly with God. But it's just never that easy.
Of the four paintings below, two are by Johannes Vermeer (nicknamed "The Sphinx of Delft" because so little is known for sure about him). Two are by Han van Meegeren, certainly the most intriguing of Vermeer's forgers. Would you believe that all four of these paintings are done by the same hand? Would you pay exorbitant prices for all of them? Or do some look not quite as good as the others? Could you identify the two works done by the same hand, even if you can't say which is Vermeer and which is van Meegeren? You can check the bottom of this post to see which are the Vermeers and which are the van Meegerens. Look closely at each pair of works. Could van Meegeren proudly say, "Nailed it!"
Van Meegeren saw what was "good" in Vermeer, and he attempted to then "be" Vermeer. It's hard, though, for forgers to completely eliminate their own time, place, society, and personal preferences. Van Meegeren, painting in the 1940s, just couldn't be a seventeenth-century Dutch artist. Though he was successful for a while, in the end, he just wasn't Vermeer.
The intent of a forger is to be so close to the original as to fool an unsuspecting buyer. What is our intent as we try to live faithful lives, copying that which is good into our own lives? What is the difference between copying an artist's work and copying the life of faith we have been shown? What is good, according to God's requirements, is to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God. How are we doing embodying those requirements? Can we read this text, look at our lives, and say, "Nailed it!"
(Top left) Johannes Vermeer. Christ in the House of Mary and Martha. 1654-1656. Edinburgh: Scottish National Gallery. (Top right) Han van Meegeren. The Footwashing. 1935-1943. Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum. (Bottom left) Han van Meegeren. Woman Reading Music. 1935-40. Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum. (Bottom right) Johannes Vermeer. Woman in Blue Reading a Letter. c. 1663. Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum.
For thoughts on the Beatitudes, click here and here.
Of the four paintings below, two are by Johannes Vermeer (nicknamed "The Sphinx of Delft" because so little is known for sure about him). Two are by Han van Meegeren, certainly the most intriguing of Vermeer's forgers. Would you believe that all four of these paintings are done by the same hand? Would you pay exorbitant prices for all of them? Or do some look not quite as good as the others? Could you identify the two works done by the same hand, even if you can't say which is Vermeer and which is van Meegeren? You can check the bottom of this post to see which are the Vermeers and which are the van Meegerens. Look closely at each pair of works. Could van Meegeren proudly say, "Nailed it!"
Van Meegeren saw what was "good" in Vermeer, and he attempted to then "be" Vermeer. It's hard, though, for forgers to completely eliminate their own time, place, society, and personal preferences. Van Meegeren, painting in the 1940s, just couldn't be a seventeenth-century Dutch artist. Though he was successful for a while, in the end, he just wasn't Vermeer.
The intent of a forger is to be so close to the original as to fool an unsuspecting buyer. What is our intent as we try to live faithful lives, copying that which is good into our own lives? What is the difference between copying an artist's work and copying the life of faith we have been shown? What is good, according to God's requirements, is to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God. How are we doing embodying those requirements? Can we read this text, look at our lives, and say, "Nailed it!"
(Top left) Johannes Vermeer. Christ in the House of Mary and Martha. 1654-1656. Edinburgh: Scottish National Gallery. (Top right) Han van Meegeren. The Footwashing. 1935-1943. Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum. (Bottom left) Han van Meegeren. Woman Reading Music. 1935-40. Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum. (Bottom right) Johannes Vermeer. Woman in Blue Reading a Letter. c. 1663. Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum.
For thoughts on the Beatitudes, click here and here.