‘Wise฀insights฀relating฀art฀and฀religion฀reward฀the฀reader฀of฀Graham฀ Howes’฀fine฀work.฀His฀interdisciplinary฀integrity฀stems฀from฀a฀deeply฀ rooted฀study฀of฀both฀art฀and฀theology,฀which฀he฀reveals฀as฀twins.฀He฀ explores฀sources฀of฀creativity฀in฀a฀variety฀of฀successful฀collaborations฀from฀ Fra฀Angelico฀at฀San฀Marco฀to฀Moore฀at฀Northampton,฀Matisse฀at฀Vence,฀ Rothko฀at฀Houston,฀and฀Viola’s฀videos฀of฀The฀Passions฀and฀The฀Messenger.฀ Graham฀Howes฀helps฀us฀see฀how฀“faith฀lives฀from฀the฀particular”฀ incarnation,฀how฀concrete฀projects฀mediate฀the฀transcendent,฀and฀how฀we฀ may฀hope฀to฀hearten฀religion฀and฀art฀to฀inspire฀and฀to฀inform฀each฀other.’ Douglas฀G.฀Adams,฀Professor฀of฀Christianity฀฀ and฀the฀Arts,฀Pacific฀School฀of฀Religion฀ ‘Long฀involved,฀internationally,฀in฀the฀study฀of฀visual฀arts฀and฀religion,฀ Graham฀Howes฀has฀given฀us฀a฀book฀that฀only฀he฀could฀have฀written.฀ While฀providing฀a฀lucid฀overview฀of฀the฀multiple฀connections฀between฀ visual฀art฀and฀religious฀belief฀(or฀“the฀sacred”),฀he฀also฀supplies฀ fascinating฀case฀studies฀and฀attends฀to฀pertinent฀historical฀and฀theological฀ developments฀up฀to฀the฀present฀moment.฀It฀is฀hard฀to฀believe฀that฀Howes฀ can฀condense฀so฀much฀insight฀and฀valuable฀information฀into฀such฀a฀ relatively฀short฀book.฀The฀Art฀of฀the฀Sacred฀should฀not฀be฀missed฀by฀anyone฀ who฀wants฀to฀explore฀the฀topic฀intelligently,฀or฀get฀a฀real฀sense฀of฀the฀ importance฀(and฀complexity)฀of฀the฀issues.’ Frank฀Burch฀Brown,฀Frederick฀Doyle฀Kershner฀Professor฀of฀Religion฀ and฀the฀Arts,฀Christian฀Theological฀Seminary,฀Indianapolis ‘Now฀that฀many฀visitors฀to฀museums฀and฀galleries฀have฀so฀little฀knowledge฀ of฀the฀religious฀subjects฀painted฀by฀artists฀in฀the฀past,฀Graham฀Howes’฀ book฀is฀superbly฀well-timed.฀His฀illuminating฀introduction฀to฀the฀ aesthetics฀of฀art฀and฀belief฀will฀prove฀indispensable.฀Above฀all,฀he฀succeeds฀ in฀reminding฀us฀that฀great฀art฀is฀essentially฀an฀act฀of฀faith,฀Christian฀or฀ otherwise.’฀ Richard฀Cork,฀art฀critic,฀historian฀and฀broadcaster ‘John฀Ruskin฀threw฀down฀the฀gauntlet฀in฀Modern฀Painters,฀฀years฀ago:฀ “How฀far฀[has]฀Fine฀Art,฀in฀all฀or฀any฀ages฀of฀the฀world,฀been฀conducive฀ to฀the฀religious฀life.”฀Using฀this฀famous฀challenge฀as฀his฀starting฀point,฀ Graham฀Howes฀takes฀us฀on฀a฀multidisciplinary฀journey฀through฀the฀ changing฀relationship฀between฀aesthetic฀and฀religious฀experience฀mainly฀ in฀the฀Western฀Church฀tradition฀–฀though฀with฀applications฀beyond฀ –฀from฀historical,฀art฀historical฀and฀sociological฀perspectives,฀and฀with฀ the฀eye฀of฀a฀trained฀artist.฀He฀writes฀about฀a฀very฀complex฀web฀of฀ideas฀ in฀a฀refreshingly฀clear฀and฀no-nonsense฀way.฀Moreover,฀his฀selection฀of฀ illustrative฀case-studies฀(among฀them฀the฀mid-Victorians,฀the฀clerical฀ patronage฀of฀Walter฀Hussey,฀the฀work฀of฀Matisse฀and฀Rothko,฀Viola฀and฀ Gormley,฀and฀–฀for฀me฀the฀most฀fascinating฀–฀the฀public’s฀reaction฀to฀the฀ ‘Seeing฀Salvation’฀exhibition฀at฀London’s฀National฀Gallery฀in฀)฀is฀ both฀imaginative฀and฀apt.฀I฀will฀treasure฀for฀a฀long฀time฀his฀demolition฀of฀ fashionable฀assertions฀about฀‘the฀church฀as฀heritage฀centre’.฀The฀Art฀of฀the฀ Sacred฀is฀an฀excellent฀introduction฀to฀a฀surprisingly฀timely฀subject.’ Sir฀Christopher฀Frayling,฀Rector,฀Royal฀College฀of฀Art,฀London ‘Graham฀Howes฀provides฀an฀eminently฀civilised฀entry฀into฀the฀range฀ of฀relationships,฀historical฀and฀contemporary,฀between฀art,฀society฀ and฀religion.฀He฀does฀so฀through฀illuminating฀case฀studies฀and฀a฀clear฀ delineation฀of฀how฀things฀stand฀today฀when฀the฀keystone฀of฀overarching,฀ shared฀meanings฀has฀collapsed.฀Few฀scholars฀are฀as฀well฀placed฀to฀ articulate฀the฀tensions฀over฀the฀last฀quarter฀of฀a฀millennium,฀between฀ Art฀Gallery฀and฀Church,฀Abstraction฀and฀Content,฀Image฀and฀Word,฀the฀ inward฀and฀outward฀explorations฀of฀individual฀artists฀and฀the฀communal฀ discipline฀of฀theology.’฀ David฀Martin,฀Emeritus฀Professor฀of฀Sociology,฀฀ London฀School฀of฀Economics,฀University฀of฀London฀ ‘Spanning฀centuries฀of฀sacred฀imagery฀and฀half฀a฀dozen฀fields฀of฀scholarly฀ inquiry,฀Graham฀Howes฀does฀what฀few฀can฀manage:฀to฀condense฀a฀ dizzying฀range฀of฀thought฀and฀art฀into฀an฀eminently฀sensible,฀persuasive,฀ and฀authoritative฀reflection฀that฀will฀inform฀specialist฀and฀lay฀reader฀ alike.฀Drawing฀on฀a฀career฀of฀distinguished฀teaching฀at฀Cambridge,฀ Howes฀writes฀with฀enviable฀clarity฀and฀insight฀about฀a฀concentration฀ of฀intellectual฀interests฀that฀has฀challenged฀writers฀on฀religion฀and฀art฀ for฀quite฀some฀time.฀By฀combining฀extensive฀knowledge฀in฀art฀history,฀ aesthetics,฀and฀theology฀with฀a฀background฀in฀sociology฀and฀the฀history฀ of฀culture,฀Howes฀fashions฀a฀compelling฀account฀of฀artist,฀believer,฀patron,฀ institution,฀and฀viewer.฀This฀integrative฀approach฀not฀only฀sheds฀crucial฀ light฀on฀the฀past,฀it฀signals฀the฀future฀of฀inquiry฀itself.฀This฀book฀will฀ prove฀to฀be฀singularly฀important.’ David฀Morgan,฀Duesenberg฀Professor฀of฀Christianity฀ and฀the฀Arts,฀Valparaiso฀University ‘It฀is฀sometimes฀said฀these฀days฀that฀art฀galleries฀are฀the฀new฀cathedrals,฀ or฀that฀art฀is฀the฀last฀refuge฀of฀the฀sacred฀in฀our฀society.฀In฀this฀very฀ lively฀and฀accessible฀book,฀Graham฀Howes฀explores฀the฀sense฀in฀which฀ this฀might฀be฀true,฀and฀the฀sense฀in฀which฀it฀leaves฀the฀most฀important฀ questions฀unanswered.฀He฀takes฀us฀with฀sympathy฀and฀skill฀through฀ a฀number฀of฀case฀studies฀tracing฀the฀interweaving฀of฀creativity฀with฀ patronage฀and฀wider฀cultural฀trends,฀and฀offers฀a฀fresh฀and฀challenging฀ account฀of฀why฀neither฀religion฀not฀visual฀art฀can฀finally฀rest฀in฀the฀ assumption฀that฀the฀abstract฀is฀the฀ideal.฀The฀Art฀of฀the฀Sacred฀makes฀a฀ genuinely฀new฀contribution฀to฀a฀vital฀debate.’฀ Rowan฀Williams,฀Archbishop฀of฀Canterbury฀ the฀art฀of฀the฀sacred an฀introduction฀to฀the฀aesthetics฀of฀art฀and฀belief ฀ Published฀in฀฀by฀฀ I.B.Tauris฀&฀Co.฀Ltd฀ ฀Salem฀Rd,฀London฀฀฀ ฀Fifth฀Avenue,฀New฀York฀฀฀ www.ibtauris.com In฀the฀United฀States฀and฀Canada฀distributed฀by฀Palgrave฀Macmillan,฀ a฀division฀of฀St.฀Martin’s฀Press,฀฀Fifth฀Avenue,฀New฀York,฀฀ Copyright฀©฀Graham฀Howes฀ The฀right฀of฀Graham฀Howes฀to฀be฀identified฀as฀the฀author฀of฀this฀work฀฀ has฀been฀asserted฀by฀him฀in฀accordance฀with฀the฀Copyright,฀฀ Designs฀and฀Patents฀Act,฀ All฀rights฀reserved.฀Except฀for฀brief฀quotations฀in฀a฀review,฀this฀book,฀or฀any฀ part฀thereof,฀may฀not฀be฀reproduced,฀stored฀in฀or฀introduced฀into฀a฀retrieval฀ system,฀or฀transmitted,฀in฀any฀form฀or฀by฀any฀means,฀electronic,฀mechanical,฀ photocopying,฀recording฀or฀otherwise,฀without฀the฀prior฀written฀permission฀ of฀the฀publisher. ฀ ฀฀฀฀฀(Hb)฀ ฀ ฀฀฀฀฀(Pb) A฀full฀CIP฀record฀for฀this฀book฀is฀available฀from฀the฀British฀Library฀ A฀full฀CIP฀record฀for฀this฀book฀is฀available฀from฀the฀Library฀of฀Congress฀ Library฀of฀Congress฀catalog฀card:฀available Typeset฀in฀Monotype฀Jansen฀by฀illuminati,฀Grosmont,฀฀ www.illuminatibooks.co.uk฀ Printed฀and฀bound฀in฀Great฀Britain฀by฀฀ T.J.฀International฀Ltd,฀Padstow,฀Cornwall contents ฀ ฀ preface฀and฀acknowledgements฀ vii ฀ ฀ introduction฀  ฀ ฀ four฀dimensions฀of฀religious฀art฀  ฀ ฀ art,฀religion฀and฀the฀victorians฀  ฀ ฀ seeing฀salvation฀  ฀฀ patron฀and฀artist฀  ฀ ฀ holy฀places฀and฀hollow฀spaces฀  ฀ ฀ artists,฀institutions฀and฀faith฀  ฀ ฀ artists฀as฀‘believers’฀  ฀ ฀ from฀religion฀to฀spirituality฀  ฀฀ theology฀and฀the฀visual฀arts฀  ฀ ฀ notes฀  ฀ ฀ select฀bibliography฀  ฀ ฀ index฀  preface฀and฀acknowledgements This฀book฀has฀had฀a฀long฀gestation,฀and฀its฀contents฀reflect฀an฀ evolving,฀often฀serendipitous,฀preoccupation฀with฀aspects฀of฀the฀ precise฀relationship฀of฀visual฀to฀religious฀experience,฀both฀in- dividually฀and฀collectively,฀within฀differing฀cultural฀and฀credal฀ contexts.฀To฀begin฀with,฀as฀an฀-year-old฀art฀student,฀I฀swiftly฀ recognised฀my฀inability฀to฀bridge฀the฀gap฀between฀my฀technical฀ shortcomings฀and฀my฀barely฀sensed฀interior฀life.฀As฀an฀under- graduate฀and฀postgraduate฀historian,฀my฀strong฀interest฀in฀the฀ Victorians,฀sharpened฀successively฀by฀Geoffrey฀Best,฀John฀Nurser฀ and฀Owen฀Chadwick,฀focused฀increasingly฀on฀the฀links฀between฀ their฀religion,฀their฀art฀and฀their฀architecture.฀A฀subsequent฀ academic฀mutation฀into฀a฀sociologist฀of฀religion฀brought฀not฀only฀ the฀opportunity฀to฀reflect฀more฀generally฀on฀the฀relationship,฀ past฀and฀present,฀between฀religious฀change฀and฀the฀visual฀arts.฀ It฀also฀led฀to฀the฀personal฀friendship฀and฀support฀of฀outstanding฀ British฀scholars฀such฀as฀David฀Martin,฀the฀late฀Bryan฀Wilson,฀ viii the฀art฀of฀the฀sacred Eileen฀Barker฀and฀Kieran฀Flanagan,฀while฀further฀afield฀the฀late฀ Edward฀Shils฀in฀Chicago,฀Philip฀Hammond฀and฀the฀late฀Ninian฀ Smart฀in฀Santa฀Barbara,฀Robert฀Wuthnow฀at฀Princeton,฀David฀ Morgan฀at฀Valparaiso,฀Frank฀Burch฀Brown฀at฀Virginia฀Tech,฀and฀ the฀late฀Yoshio฀Abe฀in฀Tokyo฀provided฀both฀unstinting฀hospital- ity฀and฀the฀opportunity฀to฀try฀out฀some฀of฀my฀ideas฀on฀others.฀ Three฀other฀experiences฀have฀been฀especially฀formative.฀One฀ was฀an฀invitation฀from฀Michael฀Kitson฀and฀Alan฀Bowness฀to฀ lecture฀to฀their฀own฀Courtauld฀students.฀Another฀was฀working฀ part-time฀for฀Robert฀Runcie฀at฀Lambeth฀Palace฀at฀a฀time฀when฀ Leonard฀Rosoman฀was฀painting฀the฀roof฀of฀the฀Chapel,฀and฀ sharing฀some฀of฀the฀artist’s฀own฀insights฀and฀reflections฀on฀his฀ task.฀Third,฀active฀involvement฀with฀ACE฀(Art฀and฀Christianity฀ Enquiry)฀both฀nationally฀and฀internationally฀brought฀with฀it฀ a฀wide฀network฀of฀the฀like-minded฀–฀Tom฀Devonshire฀Jones,฀ Charles฀Pickstone,฀Allan฀Doig,฀Mary฀Charles฀Murray,฀Wilson฀ Yates,฀John฀and฀Jane฀Dillenberger,฀Doug฀Adams,฀Mark฀Cazalet฀ and฀others฀too฀numerous฀to฀mention.฀They฀will฀know฀who฀they฀ are.฀Finally,฀I฀have,฀over฀the฀years,฀had฀regular฀and฀privileged฀ access฀to฀exceptionally฀alert฀and฀responsive฀students,฀not฀only฀ within฀my฀own฀university฀and฀college,฀but฀also฀among฀members฀ of฀my฀Continuing฀Education฀classes฀throughout฀the฀Cambridge฀ region฀–฀especially฀in฀Letchworth฀and฀Bedford฀–฀who฀have฀ always฀provided฀plenty฀of฀robust฀reality-testing฀for฀many฀of฀my฀ more฀tentative฀hypotheses. More฀immediate฀thanks฀go฀to฀my฀publisher฀(and฀former฀ pupil)฀Alex฀Wright,฀who฀has฀shown฀extraordinary฀forbearance฀ throughout,฀and฀to฀Martin฀Boycott฀Brown฀and฀Emilie฀Dyer฀