Who made the universe? How did life begin, and what is its purpose? What happens to us after we die? For answers to these and other fundamental questions, people throughout history have turned to a world we cannot see except through faith, the sacred realm of the Spirit. Gods and goddesses, spirits of ancestors, spirits of nature, one God and one alone- each society has formed its own view of the sacred realm and how it interacts with our own. Some forms of faith have disappeared into history, others have remained small and local, while still others such as Christianity and Islam have been major regions that draw believers from all over the world. From earliest times art has played an important role in our relationship to the sacred, helping us to envision it, to honor it, and to communicate with it.
Many works of architecture have been created to provide settings for rituals of worship and prayer, rituals that formalize contact between the earthly and divine realms. One such work is the small marvel known as the Sainte-Chapelle, or holy chapel. Located in Paris, the chapel was commissioned in 1239 by the French king Louis IX to house an important collection of relics that he had just acquired, relics he believed to include pieces of the True Cross, the Crown of Thorns, and other instruments of Christ's Passion. The king's architects created a soaring vertical space whose walls seem to be made of stained glass. It is said that light passing through the glass creates a dazzling effect, transforming the interior into a radiant, otherwordly space in which the glory of heaven seems close at hand.
The Sainte-Chapelle is a relatively intimate space, for it was intended as a private chapel for the king and his court. In contrast, the Great Mosque at Cordoba, Spain, was built to serve the needs of an entire community. Begun during the 8th century, the Great Mosque at Cordoba grew to be the largest place of prayer in western Islam. The interior of the prayer hall is a vast horizontal space measured out by a virtual forest of columns. Daylight enters through doorways placed around the perimeter of the hall. Filtered through the myriad columns and arches, it creates a complex play of shadows that make the extent and shape of the interior hard to grasp. Alternating red and white sections break up the visual continuity of the arch forms. Oil lamps hanging in front of the focal point of worship would have created still more shadows.
In both the Saint-Chapelle and the Great Mosque at Cordoba architects strove to create a place where worshipers might approach the sacred realm. The builders of the Sainte-Chapelle envisioned a radiant vertical space transformed by colored light, while the architects of the Great Mosque at Cordoba envisioned a disorienting horizontal space fractured by columns and shadows.
The sacred realm cannot be seen with human eyes, yet artists through out the ages have been asked to create images of gods, goddesses, angels, demons, and all manner of spirit beings. Religious images may serve to focus the thoughts of the faithful by giving concrete form to abstract ideas. Often, however, their role has been more complex and mysterious. For example, in some cultures images have been understood as a sort of conduit through which sacred power flows; in others they serve as a dwelling place for a diety, who is called upon through ritual to take up residence within.
The last image is also for a religous purpose. This Buddist image was made in Tibet. The painting portrays Ratnasambhava, one of the Five Transcendent Buddhas, seated in a pose of meditation on a stylized lotus throne. His right hand makes the gesture of bestowing vows, his left, the gesture of meditation. Unlike other Buddhas, the Five Transcendent Buddhas are typically portrayed in the bejeweled garb of Indian princes. Arranged around Ratnasambhava are bodhisattvas, also in princely attire. Bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who have deterred their ultimate goal of nirvana (freedom from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth- in order to help others attain that goal). All wear halos signifying their holiness. The buddha, being the most important of the personages shwon, dominates the painting as the largest figure. He faces straight front, in a pose of tranquility, while the others around him stand or sit in relaxed postures. It is a safe assumption to say that this artist independently found a format that satisfied his pictorial needs. (I couldn't find a picture of this on the internet, but you can look it up if you just absolutely have to.)
The three different works I have shown are all from their own separate, particular religion. Whether it be Islam, Christianity, or Buddhism, they are all special in their own way. Each show the beliefs of their cultures and I find it very interesting how different cultures vary so across and through our world. Some people of the Christian faith may find it offensive to see Islamic and Buddist works as something of value, but it's through art that we are able to visualize and appreciate other cultures in the world. I would hate to grow old and not see, learn, or appreciate all the different ways people worship. I despise close-mindedness...
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