DESCRIPTION:

This course explores the use of imagery in devotional practices during pre-Reformation northern Europe. The practices that accompanied these religious objects range from private devotion (prayer books, rosary beads, wood carvings on pamphlets) to liturgical worship (sculptures on altarpieces). Exploring the interdependence of biblical verses and pictorial stories will be a means by which we study the use of Christian imagery as aids to prayer with, for many, the desire of union with God in imageless contemplation.

A historical foundation for the use of religious imagery in pre-Reformation worship enriches one's own critical thinking about iconic and aniconic conceptualizations. Moreover, gaining an appreciation for the kinesthetic aspect of devotion can provide a visual context for both present practice and future innovations.

The course will meet weekly for three-hour sessions The first half of the course will be taught with lectures followed by small group discussion of a particular religious object. In the second half of the term, the instructor will engage members of the class to research a painting or object, making connections between the devotional object or image and the theology of its time.

CD available from Fuller bookstore containing portions from the following: Casey, Michael. Fully Human, Fully Divine. Liguori Publications, 2004 . Dillenberger, Jane. Style & Content in Christian Art. Crossroad, 1986.

Drury, John. Painting the Word: Christian Pictures and their Meanings. Yale University Press, 1999.

Finaldi, Gabriele. The Image of Christ. London: National Gallery Company Ltd., 2000.

Os, Henk van. The Art of Devotion in the Late Middle Ages in Europe, 1300-1500. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994. (On Reserve.)

Ainsworth, Maryan W. From Van Eyck to Bruegel: Early Netherlandish Painting in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1998. (Selected Essays On Reserve.)

Alexander, J.J.G. The Master of Mary of Burgundy. A Book of Hours for Engelbert of Nassau. New York: George Braziller, 1970.

A Kempis, Thomas. The Imitation of Christ. Nashville: T. Nelson, 1981.

Clifton, James. The Body of Christ in the Art of Europe and New Spain, 1150-1800. With essays by David Nirenberg and Linda Elaine Neagley. Munich: Prestel, 1997. (On Reserve.)

Dillenberger, Jane. Image & Spirit in Sacred & Secular Art. New York: Crossroad, 1990.

Ferguson, George. Signs and Symbols in Christian Art. New York: Oxford University Press, 1958.

Hornik, Heidi and Mikeal Parsons, Eds. Interpreting Christian Art: Reflections on Christian Art. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 2003.

Ruusbroec, John. The Spiritual Espousals and Other Works. New York: Paulist Press, 1985.

Course work will be evaluated on the following basis: Two papers of 8-10 pages on a specific work of art, one presented to the class during the final week.