Page 8 - For the purpose of this essay when I refer to ‘spirit’ ‘devine’ or ‘spirituality’ I am referring

The iconography of the Greek manner, Byzantine and Gothic periods in
particular the work of Cimabue and Giotto
(Fig–2), used symbolic representation of
Godly or spiritual ideals. On the surface

these triptych or diptych panels would
appear to be decorative, commemorative
and narrative, that they were mere
representations depicting the doctrine of
the religious orthodox church it
characterised. I would argue that apart
from the superficial aspect to ‘religious’
painting, that there is a deeper connection
to spirit within that creative process. As
Richard Viladesau writes in ‘Theology
and the Arts’ (2000, p144) ‘Even when it
is intended as a communication of spiritual
events and ideas, then, sacred art Fig – 2. The Stefaneschi Triptych (recto) c. 1330.Vatican
transcends its spiritual content by adding Giotto Di Bondone
an interpretive element. This consideration leads us to yet another dimension of art’s
function as a religious and theological text: Sacred art aims not merely at the practical
catechetical goal of communication of a message, but also at the more specifically
artistic goal of visible representation of experience of the divine’. This experience of
the divine has been referred to by many artists over the centuries, whether their subject
was the human figure, landscape, still life, or indeed religious or biblical themes.
Having visited the Accademia gallery in Florence in March ’07,’09 and ‘10
and seeing firsthand the series of ‘captives’ or ‘prisoners’ by
Michelangelo, (Fig–3), one can sense the powerful release of
the figures being freed from the confines of the surrounding
marble, almost as if they have a life of their own. When looking
directly at these works it seems obvious that he acted as
mediator to their release. Michelangelo believed that within the
block of stone/marble that the figure already existed, with
guidance from the divine and the humility to allow it to work
through him, that he was guided to release the figures within.
He also believed that the human soul is a prisoner that strives to
be released from its bodily form. Perhaps the latter is the true
meaning of these works.
Richard Harries writes in, ‘Art and the Beauty of God’

Fig–3. "Captive Slave" by (1993, p101) ‘All works of art, whatever their content, have a
Michelangelo. Accademia spiritual dimension’. This suggests that apart from what we
associate as religious or holy in painting, representing in particular Christian imagery
that there is another dimension to the creative act itself. This in no way diminishes the
powerful symbolic imagery and associations we have with these descriptions when
viewing ‘religious’ painting, and to some degree the importance of conveying a sense
of the divine, is now after centuries of association part of our visual language, part of
our way of seeing. As Gesa Thiessen writes in ‘Theology and Modern Irish Art’ (1999,

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