Download pdf
Development of Art and Religion Through Compromise: Medieval Christian Art and Chinese Religious Art
- 1 Sichuan Normal University
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The significance of this paper lies in the analysis of medieval religious art in China and Europe, which sheds light on how the intersection of religion and art reflects cultural and societal values. To understand the delicate balance between artistic expression and religious influence, this study delves into the development and evolution of religious art during the medieval period. The comprehensive comparative analysis is conducted using an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural approach that integrates perspectives from art history, history, religious studies, and aesthetics. The findings reveal that while initially, art in both regions was predominantly influenced by religious ideals, it gradually asserted its independence and shifted from a God-centered to a human-centered approach. The results of this study imply that despite its oppressive origins, religious art managed to harness religion as a catalyst for innovation and enrichment, showcasing the resilience and adaptive capacities of art.
Keywords
Religious Art, Medieval Studies, Comparative Studies, Artistic Expression
[1]. Logan, F. D. (2012). A History of the Church in the Middle Ages. Routledge, pp13.
[2]. Lai, G. (2015). Excavating the afterlife: the archaeology of early Chinese religion. University of Washington Press, pp.1-2
[3]. Hall, J. (2018). Illustrated dictionary of symbols in Eastern and Western art. Routledge.
[4]. Fei, S., & Ming, G. (2021). The Philosophical Fusion of the Primitive Aesthetics of Chinese and Western Religious Paintings and the Study of Contemporary Paintings. European Journal for Philosophy of Religion.
[5]. Feuerbach, L. (1908). Das wesen der religion. A. Kroner.
[6]. Choi, S. A. (2012). Quest for the true visage: Sacred images in medieval Chinese Buddhist art and the concept of Zhen. The University of Chicago.
[7]. Hegel, G. W. F. (1842). Vorlesungen über die Ästhetik (Vol. 1). Duncker und Humblot.
[8]. Howes, G. (2006). The art of the sacred: an introduction to the aesthetics of art and belief. Bloomsbury Publishing.
[9]. Craft, J. A. (2018). Placemaking and the arts: Cultivating the Christian life. InterVarsity Press.
[10]. Hung, W. (1988). From temple to tomb: Ancient Chinese art and religion in transition. Early China, 13, 78-115. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0362502800005216
[11]. Karetzky, P. E. (2002). Wu Zetian and Buddhist Art of the Tang Dynasty. Tang Studies, 2002(20-21), 113-150. https://doi.org/10.1179/073750302788699628
[12]. Williams, C. A. S. (1976). Outlines of Chinese symbolism and art motives: an alphabetical compendium of antique legends and beliefs, as reflected in the manners and customs of the Chinese. Courier Corporation.
[13]. De Gruchy, J. W. (1918). Theology and the visual arts. The modern theologians, 706.
[14]. Illman, R., & Smith, W. A. (2013). Theology and the arts: Engaging faith. Routledge.
[15]. Eco, U. (2002). Art and beauty in the middle ages. Yale University Press.
[16]. Scruton, R. (1983). The aesthetic understanding: Essays in the philosophy of art and culture.
[17]. Klingender, F., Antal, E., & Harthan, J. P. (2019). Animals in art and thought: to the end of the Middle Ages. Routledge.
[18]. Gombrich, E. H., & Gombrich, E. H. (1995). The story of art (Vol. 12, pp. 155-159). London: Phaidon.
[19]. De Gruchy, J. W. (2001). Christianity, art and transformation: Theological aesthetics in the struggle for justice. Cambridge University Press.
[20]. Dyrness, W. A. (2008). Dante, Bunyan and the case for a Protestant aesthetics. international Journal of systematic theology, 10(3), 285-302. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2400.2008.00284.x
[21]. Carruthers, M. (2013). The experience of beauty in the Middle Ages. Oxford University Press.
Cite this article
Yang,S. (2024). Development of Art and Religion Through Compromise: Medieval Christian Art and Chinese Religious Art. Communications in Humanities Research,29,28-34.
Data availability
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.
Disclaimer/Publisher's Note
The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s). EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.
About volume
Volume title: Proceedings of the International Conference on Global Politics and Socio-Humanities
© 2024 by the author(s). Licensee EWA Publishing, Oxford, UK. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. Authors who
publish this series agree to the following terms:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the series right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this
series.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the series's published
version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial
publication in this series.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and
during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See
Open access policy for details).