Art and Faith

The art in these pages comes from pre-Renaissance and Renaissance Italy. Society during those times was profoundly religious and Catholic. Art had two functions: to impart religious instruction, often in the form a story about the Holy Family, Christ, Mary, or other biblical references, and accumulate wealth and prestige for the rich and royal. Since literacy was restricted to the very few, such as clerics and lawyers, art was a principal means for teaching the masses. The art could be paintings, statuary, or architecture, and often a combination of all three. The economic success of Italian city states--Florence, Rome, Venice, Pisa, Mantua, Milan, and Siena--fed competition for prestige and for artists. It should be noted that international banking and double entry book keeping originated in Florence during this period. The competition for prestige helped engender an awesome outpouring of art that has inspired generations of visitors, students, and artists to journey to Italy. The greatest patron of arts was the Papacy, which obviously had the resources and religious identity. Eastern Christianity also depended on art, evidenced in the icons and the beautiful architecture.

Religious art helped spread the faith throughout the world, often adopting styles that reflected the culture of the region. As an example, some of the most beautiful religious paintings can be found in Cuzco, Peru (the Cuzco school, 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries), which combined European and indigenous themes. The paintings assisted in converting the Inca Indians to Catholicism. Some of the instructors were Italian Jesuits, and some of the artists were Indians as well as mestizos. The US Postal Service chose the painting below for its Christmas series of 2006.