Impact of the Bible on Christian Art
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The impact of the Bible on Christian art of the Medieval and Renaissance periods is second to no other source. Both the New and Old Testaments were endless sources of inspiration for visual artists. In addition to the Bible artists also drew on popular literature in which Biblical stories were rewritten and amplified and on a considerable body of theological writing which commented on the meanings of persons and events in the Bible. The presentation of Biblical incidents in Christian art varied depending on the particular symbolic or iconographical approach of the artist and the specific purpose of the work. The range of uses of the Bible in art requires art historians to possess a firm grasp of the sources and broad knowledge of the meanings attached to Biblical events by artists, patrons and audiences in various historical periods. A review of some uses of the story of David demonstrates the impact the story had on artists and audiences and how its meanings were adapted to fit particular circumstances. The story of David in 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel and 1 Kings is one of the most extensive biographical narratives in the Bible. In addition many of the Psalms were widely believed to have been composed by David. This material provided a wealth of meanings for artists and theologians and made David one of the most popular and easily recognized of Old Testament figures in art. Generally the use of Old Testament figures in art was "typological" in that the images or events of
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el, Zachariah and David. Each carries a band bearing the words of his prophecy. David's features words (in Latin) from one of 'his' psalms: "They pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones" (Psalms 21:18) (Huizinga 309).
Though David became king at thirty and reigned for more than forty years (2 Samuel 5:4) he is not depicted at Chartres or by Sluter as an old man. The other kings and prophets in these groups have long beards, bald heads, and aged faces and bodies. But David is depicted in a remarkably similar fashion in both sculptures. He has short curly hair and a short curly beard and the face of a very handsome adult of about thirty. He the only patriarchs or prophet represented as a young man. There are a number of reasons for this. Emphasis was placed on his youth when, as a young boy, David was selected by the voice of the Lord and anointed as God's chosen leader of the Jewish nation (1 Samuel 16). He was too young for the regular life of a soldier and was still tending his father's sheep when he visited the battlefield. The boy heard Goliath's challenge to the Israelites and defeated the giant by shooting him with a slingshot. David became king at the relatively young age of thirty and, after a f
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3258
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page)
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