Publications and Research
Document Type
Review (of Book, Film, Etc.)
Publication Date
2002
Abstract
Spanish religious art tends to be theatrical in nature. During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, for example, the original setting of sculpted figures invariably emulated a stage in order to create a dramatic environment in which light, smells, and sounds were controlled for effect. Just consider the religious sculptures frequently paraded in processions or the statuary placed in chapels and niche-like recesses. Or think also of the dramatic paintings that functioned almost as backdrops for what amounted to the "staging" of the Catholic liturgy. Medium and message, thus, went hand in hand, a dependence that was made even stronger in artworks that, with unabashed easiness, depicted blatant flesh with tortured spirituality: if flesh caught the eye – one could easily infer – spirituality warned of its perils.
Included in
Christianity Commons, Fine Arts Commons, History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons, Museum Studies Commons
Comments
This review was originally published in Music in Art, available at https://www.jstor.org/stable/41818729