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Betty
Spackman
opens her book
‘A Profound Weakness,
Christians & Kitsch’
with this line
:
We make art
to remind us of
the invisible and to
heal our forgetfulness
Biblical Art
illuminates
Biblical Text
.
Good Books
about biblical art
compel the reader to
consider the Source
.
Here are some of
my favorites
:
BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATION
THE GOSPEL OF JOHN
a paraphrase by CHUCK SMITH
illustrated by RICK GRIFFIN
This book tops the list because
it illustrates one of the gospels.
This is a literal example of good
biblical art illuminating
biblical text
.
Chuck Smith
founded Calvary Chapel
back in the ‘hippie days’
of the 1960’s, and he chose
Rick Griffin, a popular artist
who had recently become
a Christian, to illustrate it
.
The result is a delightful
and surprising re-vision of
the central core of Christianity,
the “Good News” of Jesus Christ
.
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EYEWITNESS
THE VISUAL BIBLE EXPERIENCE
Written by Jeff White
Illustrated by 16 International Artists
“Evocative.”
“Visionary.”
“Soul-Stirring.”
Not my words, but I agree with them.
This is a gorgeous book illustrated
by sixteen different artists.
What I like about this book is
that each section has a different
visual style, and the text is
a pleasure to read
.
The publisher
has gone a step furthur by
creating an online experience.
Here’s a link to it
:
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BIBLICAL ART HISTORY
A JOURNEY INTO CHRISTIAN ART
HELEN DE BORCHGRAVE
This is a broad overview
of Christian Art from the
2nd century through
the 20th century
.
What I like about this book is that
it gave me a historical overview
of Christian Art by a writer who
is thoughtful and engaging,
and it is beautifully printed
on high-quality paper
.
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SEEING SALVATION
NEIL MACGREGOR
ERIKA LANGMUIR
While most surveys of Christian Art
organize the material historically,
this one organizes around the
life of Jesus; his likeness,
birth, death and
resurrection
.
Georges de La Tour (1648) ‘The Newborn’
This book accompanies a
BBC four-part video series,
‘Seeing Salvation’
.
The book is beautiful,
but I want to link to the
YouTube video series
:
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BIBLICAL ART ESSAY
ART, CREATIVITY, AND THE SACRED
An Anthology in Religion and Art
Dianne Apostolos-Cappadona, Editor
Don’t buy this book for the art.
All the images are black and white.
This is a collection of essays by
many different writers
.
Maybe you will find
one that resonates with you.
I discovered Jane Dillenberger
here, and have bought
several of her books
since then
.
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BIBLICAL ART
IMAGING THE WORD
AN ARTS AND LECTIONARY RESOURCE
IN THREE VOLUMES
The set provides hundreds of images
(as well as songs, photos and poetry)
organized around the Lectionary
calendar used by many
church denominations
.
If you read one section a week,
this series will last the entire
three-year cycle
.
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REVEALED
A STORYBOOK BIBLE
FOR GROWN-UPS
NED BUSTARD
This book presents
over a hundred woodcuts,
linocuts and etchings from
thirty-four different artists
interpreting some of the
most difficult stories
in the bible
.
(The opening page is titled,
“Not Suitable for Children”)
What I like about “Revealed”
is that it collects a lot of artwork
on biblical themes and presents
them in a similar format
.
The images
are printed full-size,
and the opposite page
provides notes and
related bible
verses
.
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BIBLICAL ART REFERENCE
SIGNS & SYMBOLS IN CHRISTIAN ART
GEORGE FERGUSON
If you notice a
Goldfinch in a painting,
how do you know if it
has meaning
or
if it is
merely
decorative
???
This book
can help
!!!
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BIBLICAL ART ORIGINS
THE SYMBOLISOM OF
THE BIBLICAL WORLD
OTHMER KEEL
Perhaps
you are interested in
learning what art was
like in biblical times,
(Ancient Near
Eastern Art
Forms)
???
There
is no better
single resource
than Othmar Keel’s
‘Symbolism of the
Biblical World’
It is packed with illustrations,
includes dozens of b&w photos
and is an invaluable reference
for exploring the ‘original’
biblical art
!!!
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BIBLICAL ART PERSPECTIVE
ART AND THE BIBLE
FRANCIS SCHAEFFER
This is
one of the first books
I read as I was becoming
interested in biblical art,
and I consider it to be
essential reading
.
It ends with a quote
that has added meaning
and purpose to my life
as a Christian
and
as an Artist
.
No
Francis Schaeffer
work of art
is more important
than the Christian’s own life,
and every Christian is cared upon
to be an artist in this sense
.
He
may have
no gift of writing,
no gift of composing or singing,
but each man has the gift of
creativity in terms of the
way he lives his life
.
In this sense,
The Christian’s
life is to be an artwork.
The Christian’s life is to
be a thing of truth and
also a thing of beauty
in the midst of a lost
and despairing
world
.
Art and the Bible
1973
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