Religion and Art (Exeter)

I. The two concepts of religion. The narrowness of the ordinary concept. Its inner explosive power. The larger concept as the great commandment: The ultimate concern. The narrower concept as a consequence of the d separation of the sacred and the secular. But this is not ultimately true. (Not true in the kingdom of God)

II. The four levels of the relation of religion and

II. The meaning of artistic symbols. They are symbols: they stand for something beyond themselves which they represent and express. E. g. A painted land- scape does not copie a real landscape nor does it bea... fie it, but it expresses in symbols of colour and form

2

a special encounter with reality. [A landscape by Rubens^j and one by Derain^k (or Pissarro ^lor Monet^m).]

III. The levels of the relation between art and religion.

a] The universal level: Art as the expression of power and form of being, and indirectly of ultimate rea- lity without religious content or religious formsubject matter. [A battle scene by Ucello^s, or male portrait by Bassano^t, the pierrot by Watteau^u, a peasants dance by Steen^v or Breughel^w, a street by Monet^x]

b] The level of the religious style without thea religious content subject-matter. The most difficult absolutely de- cisive for the relation of religion and art.

3

The style: the overall form which expresses the symbo- lic selfinterpretation of a period. If this selfin selfinter- pretation emphasizes the ultimate problems of human exis- tence, it is, in the larger sense, religious. If it does so it does not emphasize the finite reality, human and natural. It uses the reality to express this its ultimate concern. It is, in the larger sense of the word expressionis- tic. (not the short period, not even the whole modern period, but the style in most religious periods of history. [Non-religious pictures of the following periods: Byzantine (Theodora), Roma- nesk (emperor-sculpture or miniature), late Gothic (Soldiers, Lovers,) death-dance), Mannerism (El Greco^ae: Horse, Mascagni^af, Landscape) Breughel ^agand Bosch^ah (Demonic imaginations). ... Modern non- religious pictures: Van Gogh^ai: Trees, Munch^aj: The crie, Cézanne^ak: Still life

4

Mark^al: Blue Horses, Picasso^am: Guernica (or parts). Brogne^an: Still-life. Chagall^ao: Village or.. / Klee^ap: Ceramic- mystic or . . . / Gris^aq: Pierrot (Perhaps Harlequins and Circusses by Picasso^ar, Leger^as, Miro^at, Chagall^au, Seurat^av) [Ernst^aw, Chirico^ax, Dali^ay]

What does this kind of art mean? It is stylistically religious, because it makes the divine - demonic ground of reality visible through the partial negation of the natural encounter with reality. Space: Mathematical perspective and its negation. Things cease to be things in the space to be handeled by us. They receive a life of their own. A non-perspectivistic space without up and down, the infinite flight. Time: Simultaneity or going into the past. Causality: No relation of the parts in interdependence. Substance: Colours and bearers. Pieces and wholes. The meaningful world is dis- solved. The horror of the appearing divine - demonic shows through them.

5

c. The level of the religious subject-matter with- out a religious style.

This was already indicated. In the Western world it starts with the Renaissance, continuing classic Greek and Roman traditions. It dominates inspite of reactions in the baroque the whole period till 1900 when the century of the world wars beginns. –  It is in all phases natura- listic, but in some representatives more idealistic, in others more realistic. In comparison with what happens in the 20th century this conflict is small. The creation of secular objects in this period is easy to understand: Nature (in itself, not as background), the portrait of the individual as such (not as saint etc), society as such (not as environment as the holy legend), the categories established in their natural meaning.

6

But this period still used the old religious symbols. It still accepted them, but it humanized them and gave them deep human emotions. This is the religious art which still dominates us in the Churches, but on the imaginably lowest level (agreement with the Catholics)

[Religious pictures of Giotto I^bm, Massacio I^bn, Fra Angelico I^bo, Piero della Francesca I^bp., Perugino I^bq, Giovanni Bellini I^br, Raphael ^bs2 Madonnas. – Rubens^bt, Madonna – Von Eik^bu, adoration, Rogier v. d. Weyden^bv. – Grünewald^bw – Dürer^bx.} – The great gap. Religious pictures of any of the naturalistis Uhde^bz, Steinhause^ca, Thoma^cb, Gebhard^cc, Keller^cd, Hofmann^ce) If not} available: Guido Reni^cf}

7

... The level of the unity of religious style with religious subject matter. This the only level for the use in the religious life. – The difficulty of the present situation: The non-participation of the general mind in the contents of religious symbolism. (in difference to the former pe- riods of religious style)

Nevertheless attempts. The relation of these attempts to modern architecture: The leading function of modern architecture in all periods. The relationship of the wall to sculpture and painting. [Examples: a] of modern re- ligious architecture (if there are slides). b] examples of modern religious art. (Dühlberg^cp, Edzard^cq, Ebertz^cr, Weissgerber^cs, Beckmann^ct, Kokoschka^cu, Nauen^cv, Heckel^cw, Nolde^cx (!!), Schmidt- Rottluff^cy, Meidner^cz, Lebrun^da, Rouault^db etc.)

8

The honesty of art towards religion in our situation. The openness to the situation without predudices, conven- tional bondage, social indifference, formaticism. Opening of the eyes and the soul to the meaning of symbols.