SUNDAY FEBRUARY 19
11:15 AM 
PARISH HALL
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Sunday Forum, coffee and conversation with Page Knox, PhD

“Images of Christ in Art Throughout the Centuries: What Images of Jesus in Art Can Teach Us”

Join us for a discussion of images of Christ through the ages. Page Knox, PhD, will highlight the power of Christianity in art, and the power of art in Christianity for the last two thousand years in painting, sculpture, and a wide variety of artistic media. Evolving in tandem with the evolution of art, the images of Christ through the ages reflect the styles, techniques, and values of the artistic moments during which they were created. Looking at the development of the figure of Christ in art, one can see the progression of art movements over the centuries.

Follow Page Knox as she traces that development, beginning with depictions of Jesus in the early Christian period, during Roman persecution as well as the Old Testament’s prohibition of graven images. With the fall of Rome, Christian art flourished in the Byzantine Empire, turning to a more stylized, symbolic approach.  During the Renaissance, artists including Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and Michelangelo, created more earthy representations of Jesus that remain powerful images to this day. Baroque artists such as Peter Paul Rubens and Caravaggio continued to explore the human side of Christ, with an emphasis on his suffering and passion. The Romantic movement signals an emotional aspect of Jesus, with a desire to consider faith as an alternative to reason. 

The lecture will conclude with images of Jesus in the modern era, at a time in which art’s role in religion and society have become more complex, as seen in the work of surrealists such as Salvador Dali. One of the most powerful sculptures of Christ as Redeemer, was created in 1931 and continues to tower over Rio de Janeiro as a symbol of resurrection and hope.