In the Beauty of Holiness: Art and the Bible in Western Culture
Overview
Beauty and holiness are both highly significant subjects in the Bible. In this comprehensive study of Christian fine art David Lyle Jeffrey explores the relationship between beauty and holiness as he integrates aesthetic perspectives from the ancient Hebrew Scriptures through Augustine, Aquinas, and Kant down to contemporary philosophers of art.
From the walls of the Roman catacombs to the paintings of Marc Chagall, visual art in the West has consistently drawn its most profound and generative inspiration from biblical narrative and imagery. Jeffrey guides readers through this artistic tradition from the second century to the twenty-first, astutely pointing out its relationship not only to the biblical sources but also to related expressions in liturgy and historical theology.
Lavishly illustrated throughout with 146 masterworks, reproduced in full color, In the Beauty of Holiness is ideally suited to students of Christian fine art, to devotees of biblical studies, and to general readers wanting to better understand the story of Christian art through the centuries.
Key Features
- Examines the intersection of theology and art
- Develops a theology of aeshetics.
- Presents an evangelical perspective on liturgy, art, and historical theology
Contents
- Part 1: Art and Worship to 1500
- Beauty and Holiness as Terms of Art
- The Paradoxical Beauty of the Cross
- Beauty and Proportion in the Sanctuary
- The Beauty of Light
- The Beauty of Holiness Alfresco
- Beauty on the Altar
- Part 2: Art and the Bible after 1500
- Beauty, Power, and Doctrine
- Beauty and the Eye of the Beholder
- Romantic Religion and the Sublime
- Art after Belief
- Art against Belief
- Return of the Transcendentals
Praise for the Print Edition
A beautiful book in every sense, this is not a narrative or stylistic history of art. Rather, it seeks to illuminate a cultural, theological, and spiritual trajectory for Christian art in the West over the last two millennia. Writing with the heart of a Celtic poet and the clarity of a classical pedagogue, David Lyle Jeffrey explores the paradox, celebrated and lamented in literature and the arts across the ages, that while mortal beauty arouses an infinite longing, it is itself finite.
—Michelle P. Brown, University of London
Jeffrey’s richly illustrated and truly learned study of the complex relationship between visual art and Christian theology and practice begins with an examination of the place of beauty in striving for holiness and ends with examples of artistic rebellion against traditional faith and—finally—the return of the transcendentals. An indispensable contribution to the conversation among artists and theologians.
—Robin Jensen, University of Notre Dame
This book will appeal to, and enlighten, a wide range of readers, including those interested in theology, art and architecture, philosophy, the liturgy, and many other subjects. Gracefully written, learned but accessible, and deeply cogitated, it is an original and important contribution to our understanding of the Bible and art in Western culture.
—Bruce Cole, former chair of National Endowment for the Humanities
- Title: In the Beauty of Holiness: Art and the Bible in Western Culture
- Author: David L. Jeffrey
- Publisher: Eerdmans
- Print Publication Date: 2017
- Logos Release Date: 2019
- Pages: 448
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subject: Christianity and art
- ISBNs: 9780802874702, 0802874703
- Resource ID: LLS:NTHBTYHLNSS
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T01:56:09Z
Sample Pages from the Print Edition
Reviews
1 rating
Aaron Hayworth
3/6/2020
A stunning and enlightening work that balances history, theology, and art criticism. I will revisit the works I have discovered in the book for many years.