Kategoria BISAC: Art >> Subjects & Themes - Religious

Faith and Power in Japanese Buddhist Art explores the transformation of Buddhism from the premodern to the contemporary era in Japan and the central role its visual culture has played in this transformation. Although Buddhism is generally regarded as peripheral to modern Japanese society, this book demonstrates otherwise. Its chapters elucidate the thread of change over time in the practice of Buddhism as revealed in temple worship halls and other sites of devotion and in imagery representing the religion's most popular deities and religious practices. It also introduces the work of modern...

Philosophers and theologians have long engaged in intense debate and introspection over the representation of the deity, its possibilities and its proscriptions. "The Forbidden Image" traces the dual strains of iconophilia and iconoclasm, the privileging and prohibition of religious images, over a span of two and a half millennia in the West.

Alain Besancon s work begins with a comprehensive examination of the status of the image in Greek, Judaic, Islamic, and Christian thought. The author then addresses arguments regarding the moral authority of the image in European Christianity from...

Today we take the word "icon" to mean "a sign," or we equate it with portraits of Christ and the saints. In The Sensual Icon, Bissera Pentcheva demonstrates how icons originally manifested the presence of the Holy Spirit in matter. Christ was the ideal icon, emerging through the Incarnation; so, too, were the bodies of the stylites (column-saints) penetrated by the divine pneuma (breath or spirit), or the Eucharist, or the Justinianic space of Hagia Sophia filled with the reverberations of chants and the smoke of incense. Iconoclasm (726-843) challenged these...

Abraham, son of Terah or Azar and husband of Sarah, is one of the pivotal figures of the Old Testament and is generally seen as the founder of the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faiths. He was a rich source of inspiration in all three faiths for artists of the medieval period. His life narrative from birth to death is richly recorded in a variety of media dating from the early Christian period to the end of the sixteenth century. As varied as they are numerous, the images in all three faiths show Abraham as father, husband, lover, warrior, politician, refugee, and traveler but most...

Hans Holbein the Younger is best known for his work in Henry VIII's England, where he painted portraits and designed decorative objects for courtly circles. England, however, only accounts for half of Holbein's working life. He developed his artistic identity on the Continent, creating a diverse range of artworks for urban elites, scholars, and publishers. Translating Nature into Art argues that by the time Holbein reached England, he had developed two roughly alternative styles of representation: a highly descriptive and objective mode, which he used for most of his portraiture,...

Despite the fact that the Gothic is one of the best known and most studied of all the fields of medieval art history, much remains for us to learn. Stretching in time from the early thirteenth to the middle of the sixteenth century and in space from the western shores of Ireland to the eastern borders of Europe, it is a style with many subdivisions and dialects. These papers--the fruits of a two-day conference at Princeton University--bring together some of the foremost scholars in the field and celebrate Willibald Sauerlander, the doyen of Gothic studies. Covering a variety of media, from...

Once little known outside of Haiti, Vodou flags (drapo Vodou), dazzling in color and imagery, have become popular commodities in the international art market. Works by such notable Haitian artists as Silva Joseph, Antoine Oleyant, and Yves Telemak now grace the walls of museums, art galleries, and private homes throughout the world.

The fascinating, colorful collection of drapo Vodou included in this book reveals the importance of Vodou flags in the Haitian culture. Shimmering with sequins and reflected light, they capture the attention of Vodou practitioners and art...

Santeria, also called Lucumi or Orisha Worship by its practitioners, originated in Nigeria among the Yoruba people. It took shape in Cuba during and after the slave trade and reached North America through Afro-Caribbean immigration. As the fastest growing African-based religion in the United States, Santeria has stimulated many publications, but none prior to this book noted the special significance of its art and artists.

In Santeria Garments and Altars, for the first time, two distinguished folklorists and practitioners of the faith focus upon the artistry of garments and...

Secrets of the Sacred illuminates the role of icons and relics in Buddhist writing and practice, with particular attention to the transformation of inanimate material images into potent icons animated by the divine. The earliest canonical scriptures indicate that images of the Buddha were created before the concept of transcendental identity was developed. Later writings reveal a connectedness between image and deity, and eventually art transformed into a means of creating a receptive environment for communication with the divine power and attaining wisdom. Icons became the...