I knew that the Council of Trent addressed art briefly and was responsible for the Baroque style's development, but I wanted to find the words for myself. Having done that, I'll try to pull out the main points:
- Images of Christ and the saints may be venerated as representations of their subjects, but not worshiped.
- They are beneficial because they instruct people in the faith and provide examples worthy of emulation.
- Images in churches ought not suggest false doctrine or encourage sin.
- The bishops should not allow images to be set up that are confusing, disorderly, indecorous, or profane.
These are, to my mind, very important criteria for sacred art. If the goal is for images in church to teach sound doctrine and offer examples of the faith worthy of emulation and veneration, then that definitely demands a certain level of clarity and dignity in both style and subject matter, plus an overall harmony in design.
Artwork: The Elevation of the Cross, by Peter Paul Rubens
No comments:
Post a Comment