MADONNA
a study on religion in art
Man is a creature of habit. For our entire recorded existence we have held rituals, routines and traditions, no matter where we live on this great green Earth. Many of our religions, cultures and beliefs have quite a lot in common with each other, but we also have enough distinctions to be a deeply interesting society.
Some people spend their whole lives studying one religion, even if they don't personally believe in it. I'm more of a hobbyist; my interests lie in what makes people tick, what matters to those around me. I have a religion of my own which I'm perfectly happy with but for as long as I can remember, others' beliefs have intrigued me in a way that few other subjects do. For my final major project last year at college (high school, for those in the US), I looked at the human perception of and reaction to death, in particular studying cultures other than my own. I found that pretty much all of our traditions surrounding death are based on the "original" religion of our area. This brought my interest in human culture - that of the ancients, in particular - to the forefront of my mind, where it has remained ever since. My study here is the most formal and focused religious research I've done to date. Most of the cultures I'm investigating are ones which I've not learned anything about before, outside of passing comments and common knowledge. Here, though, I'm going to find out about specifically how their beliefs and customs affected the art that they made. With that in mind, then, allow me to introduce
the five cultures we'll learn about in this project!
As a British person, I wanted to start the project off in a culture which thrived in old England. The Celts were a nomadic people who travelled the world and held beliefs such as the power of nature, respect and reverence for all life, reincarnation, the web of life and many, many others which would simply take years to uncover and write about. Both Celts and Druids were around before history itself existed, so the origins of their faith is unknown. Their culture is steeped in mystery, partially because of the Roman erasure of the ancient Druids, which has led to widespread misinformation about Druidic ways of life. When most people - myself included, before my research - picture Druids, they see elderly men in long robes, leading processions around Stonehenge and practising magic in dark, candle-lit rooms. In both modern and ancient Druidry, this couldn't be further from the truth. Druids in their original state were not only incredibly progressive in their ways of religion (for example, women were able to become Druids and handle important responsibilities), they were also responsible for many non-religious duties. These included handling the justice system, dealing with private disputes, offering learned advice to those who needed it and even apparently taking charge of entire villages by becoming chieftains. Modern Druids were brought about by revivalists in the 18th and 19th centuries. Their teachings are much better documented than those of ancient Druids, and these teachings appear to be very personal to each individual who practices Druidry. Some are monotheistic, some polytheistic. Some view Druidry as a religion, others see it as a way of life. Their rituals are still in progress, which is often the only part of modern Druidry people see - again, people in long robes marching around Stonehenge. Their faith goes much further than that, though, affecting their lives - and their art - in intriguing ways. Join me as I investigate this ancient and enigmatic culture!
Catholicism is perhaps the most widespread and well-known religion in the world today. Their origins aren't as muddied as those of Druids, but it's still not entirely clear how or when they established themselves as an organised religion. Artwork made for the Catholic church is some of the most widely known in history, including pieces such as the Apocalypse Tapestry, The Last Judgement and, of course, The Last Supper. For centuries, Rome existed in a state of perpetual religious practice. This is perhaps why Catholic art is so famous; many paintings and statues from the Renaissance were commissioned by the Catholic church themselves. In this page, I talk about a few famous Renaissance
artists and touch on a couple of other notes about Catholicism.
Since a child, I've had an interest in the many interwoven plots of Hellenic faith. It seems impossible to understand everything told in ancient Greek tales, with over 400 gods in total. Their stories are sometimes used as parables in the modern day - most notably Icarus, whose mistakes warn against over-ambition (something I clearly need to learn). Their culture has left a lasting impact on all of the Western world - many of our languages have elements of Greek in them, they brought many mainstays of modern life into existence (democracy, theatre, the Olympics and much more), even many of their religious traditions and rituals have affected completely different religions which came after them. Their artists are impossible to know due to how long ago they were around so on the page, I focus more on different eras within ancient Greek art. I hope you enjoy!
Unlike most of these cultures, I have no prior connection to the Maya. I have no friends who follow the religion, my country has no connection to them and until now, my only knowledge of this culture was what I'd seen on Horrible Histories. They struck me as a violent and war-like people, suffering endless conflicts between cities and literally murdering children for their rituals. When I started researching them, however, they seemed more peaceful than anticipated. Their focus was initially on farming, not fighting. As my research went on, though, I discovered that a lot of what I'd believed previously was quite accurate. They did buy and kill children (orphans, to be specific), they sacrificially killed prisoners of war and perhaps one of the biggest factors in their cultural downfall was the wars which plagued their cluster of city-states. They left behind a decent amount of artefacts, though they didn't have as much influence as the Hellenic people, and were succeeded (in some ways) by the Aztecs, who are also mentioned in this page.
Oft referenced in pop culture, Norse Paganism was first practised by, would you believe, Norsemen! Its influence spread throughout the world with the Vikings; Norse pirates who sailed the seas in search of new land. These pirates were depicted by their victims as ruthless pillagers, but they were actually quite peaceful. They valued self-sufficiency and were farmers, hunters, carpenters, stonecarvers and plenty more. In Britain they're known for destroying monasteries, but Vikings - and their countrymen back home - had their own sense of spirituality and religion. This can be seen through their many runestones, which offer tales of both historical Norse figures and people of legend. I wasn't able to write much on this culture, unfortunately, but take a look and see what I discovered!