A higher contemplation
Subtitle: sacred meaning in the Christian art of the Middle Ages
By: Stephen N. Fliegel
Series: The sacred landmarks series
Publisher: Kent State University Press
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Kent, Ohio
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 115
ISBN-13: 9781606350935
Subjects: Christian art and symbolism
Description: Book Description: Understanding Christian art of the Middle Ages. During the Middle Ages, religious art had a variety of functions and was prevalent in churches, public spaces, and private homes. Sculptures and paintings were used as altarpieces, movable images, choir screens, piers or niches, and reliquaries. They were placed behind, above, or near altars as well as on pulpits, lecterns, building exteriors, holy water fonts, tombs, and roadside shrines. They were also used for private devotion in the home. In addition to the obvious didactic function of religious images in medieval art, they filled other needs of both the beholder and the church: veneration. Candles were lit and censed before the sacred images; offerings were made in the name of the figures who were honored and cherished in a very direct way. Sacred images, served to remind Christians of the pious and virtuous lives of the saints and of their sacrifices and were an aid to meditation.

They embellished sacred spaces, giving them an otherworldly luster. Sacred art was an important ingredient in the formative power and energy of medieval piety. Some of the most profound and enduring works of art in Western civilization were produced for private devotion and public worship. Indeed, many of the most significant artists of the Middle Ages and Renaissance earned their livelihoods producing religious art in the service of the church. To access and understand this art today, we must be aware of its context, its intended audience, and its functions in the public or private space. In A Higher Contemplation, author Stephen N. Fliegel introduces medieval Christian iconography and its forms, meaning, function, context, and symbolism to twenty-first-century audiences.

Serving as a guide to the subtleties, complexities, richness, range, and antiquity of medieval Christian artistic traditions and the multiple levels in which they can be understood, this book will aid the reader in a journey of discovery and understanding of those sacred images. Beautifully designed will full-color illustrations, A Higher Contemplation will appeal to students, teachers, travelers, art lovers, and those with an aspiring interest in the culture of the Middle Ages and the history of religion.
Notes: "This book is an expanded and revised version of a monograph titled Sacred Meaning in the Christian Art of the Middle Ages published in 2004 by the Sacred Landmarks Initiative at Cleveland State University."

Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: The context and the medieval mind; title: The early Christian and Byzantine perception of images; title: Images of the saints, angels, and holy persons; title: Mater gloriosa: the cult of Mary in the Middle Ages; title: Images of the cross and the Crucifixion.