Sacred art is not meant, primarily, to help people to know good things, rather it is to inspire us to do good things, through beauty. If we were to believe what some say, especially professional art historians it seems, then the main purpose for the creation of Catholic art of the past, for example in the stained glass windows of gothic cathedrals, was to teach scripture to the illiterate. Some, might broaden this slightly and tell us that it is to teach Catholic doctrine, but again, to the illiterate. This can, in turn, be asserted by Catholics who think that it is a good thing, and occasionally, Eastern Rite Christians who criticize Catholic art for this reason and tell us that the iconographic tradition forms the hearts of those who worship, while they worship, in contrast to what the would argue are degenerate naturalistic forms. I explain why I suspect the historians are wrong and doubt that has been the main goal of Roman Catholics in the past, but even if the historians are correct, then this narrow defined didactic purpose should not have been the main purpose or Catholic sacred art, because the Roman Catholic Church has consistently told us otherwise. This posting is the first in a two-part article.
New Liturgical Movement: Sacred Art Is Not For Teaching Scripture to the Illiterate (Part 1)
New Liturgical Movement: Sacred Art Is Not For Teaching Scripture to the Illiterate (Part 1)
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