Saturday, February 21, 1998

Church art -- it once was the only art

By REBEKAH SCOTT / Toledo Blade

Even an infidel would have to agree: Art as we know it owes a huge debt to the Christian church.

After the fall of Rome, when civilization dissolved into the centuries of disorder called the Dark Ages, art and literacy were kept alive within the walls of monasteries, convents and churches.

For many years, the church was the only binding influence on warring tribes and states. Its leadership wielded real political power, cloaked in spiritual mystique. Church was about the only place a peasant could see artwork or drama; most of it illustrated Bible stories or spiritual concepts.

"Art celebrates who God is, in all of us," said the Rev. Robert Fisher, head of the Liturgical Commission of the Diocese of Toledo, Ohio. "Whether it's through music, art, sculpture, whatever, it's the expression of God's creative activity at work through mankind."

By the time European states established borders and leadership, the Church was firmly cemented in power. Princes curried favor with popes -- and perhaps God -- by sending gifts of jewels, vestments and altar utensils, the finest artworks their craftsmen could produce. When battles were won or prayers answered, grateful hearts sent their thanks to God through the church. The great cathedrals of the world stand as testimonies to centuries of devotion, built and funded by believers great and small.

Church-oriented art isn't always easy to understand. A little information on the uses of the item at hand, as well as the world that produced it, goes a long way toward real appreciation, Fisher said.

Consider the great Cross of Justin II, centerpiece of Cleveland's Vatican Treasures show.

"It's Byzantine," Fisher said. "It's hard to appreciate the beauty of this piece without an understanding of the church at that time. Going to a show like this is like a journey through history. You can glimpse the people of another time, their faith, their ideals of beauty. In that way, it's a pilgrimage, then, knowing there's a story of faith behind each object you see."

The popes themselves were not slackers when it came to generating beautiful things. From about the ninth century, papal officials commissioned some of the world's most beautiful artwork. It supported the careers of hundreds of artisans and artists, and their works accumulated in churches and Vatican apartments and gardens.

Treasures of centuries were kept safe in Rome, for the most part, from the wars and changing fortunes that marauded the artwork of kingdoms and states round about.

Sadly, many such treasures stayed sealed in Roman altars and vaults for centuries, far from the eyes of would-be devotees.

The Catholic Church decided to "open the windows" in 1962, and Vatican II reforms reached into art collections as well as theology. Now, much of it is on display in a series of Vatican museums. Fisher said the curators' sharing the wealth with the rest of the world may help modern believers prepare for the upcoming church millennium, and get a better grasp of church history.

"You can't know where you are, or where you're going, unless you know where you've been," he said. "Like the styles of art in the display, the church is ever-changing. But the truth behind it never changes."

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)