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Would you rather own a
stunningly realistic painting of a bowl of fruit or a fairly realistic
painting of the Blessed Virgin? Would you rather own a painting by
a non-Catholic master, or a Catholic amateur? Would you rather own
a painting of Jesus produced for sale at Wal-Mart or one produced in a
monastery for use in a church?
Obviously, when it comes to art
all things are not equal. However, very few can clearly articulate
the principles that make one work of art "better" than another.
In the CLAA's Art History
course, we lead students through the history of art, not merely to
survey what was painted when, where and by whom. We study the
history of art itself, that is, the history of art as it relates to the
history of the Church in the world. We will hammer out a clear set
of principles for the criticism of art and show how they apply to art
history.
What we will see is that as
Catholic spirituality developed over time and peaked in the late middle
ages, that true art developed and peaked with it. As Catholic
spirituality declined, art declined as well. Unfortunately, as art
declined in spirituality, artists improved in their technical mastery of
the fine arts and this led to technically superior junk. The
spiritual focus of the work was neglected and the arts were degraded.
As time went on and spirituality grew yet darker, even the technique was
rejected and the art grew chaotic, confused and aimless.
The challenge for students
today is to restore art to its spiritual heights in the medieval era,
while putting to use the improved techniques developed after art's fall.
Inspiring the new Christian masters (and their patrons) is our goal.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The CLAA's Art History course will be taught by Mr. Jared
Haselbarth, Assistant Academic Dean in the Religious Studies Dept.
at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, PA.
Mr. Haselbarth studied at Franciscan University of
Steubenville, earning a B.A. in Theology in 2001 and then an M.A. in Religious Studies at St. Charles Seminary in 2005.
He is the author of the CLAA's excellent
Music History course, which opened in 2009 and frequently
contributes to the CLAA's website and newsletters.
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Above: The spiritual art of
the Dominican monk, Fra Angelico (1387-1455) represents what may
be called human art's most perfect age. We hope to restore
his spirituality while improving on his technique. |
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OPENING FALL 2010
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WHAT IS TRUE ART?
In our generation, we tend to think that an
artist is free to do what he wishes so long as he claims to have some
good reason for doing so. "Art" is treated as a subject of its
own, and artists are judged by none but themselves. In other
cases, every man is seen as the judge of art, with the work having only
as much value as the individual viewer grants.
This is all upside-down and the reason why
modern art has become an exercise in vanity.
Art (in any form) is merely a means of
communication, and different arts appeal to different faculties or
senses. Art is a way of communicating ideas from one mind
(the artist's) to another (the viewers').
Thus, art is only good when it communicates
good ideas. St. Paul supplies us with our rule in Philippians 4:6:
"Whatsoever things are true,
whatsoever modest,
whatsoever just,
whatsoever holy,
whatsoever lovely,
whatsoever of good fame,
if there be any virtue,
if any praise of discipline:
think on these things."
Furthermore, lest this description was not
clear enough to prevent worldly men from twisting his meaning, St. Paul
also taught:
"If you be risen with
Christ,
seek the things that are above, where Christ is sitting
at the right hand of God."
Once we know what men ought to be
thinking on, we then know what men ought to be communicating and this
guides our understanding of "true" and "good" art.
True art is that which communicates those
ideas which men ought to be thinking on. Those ideas are ideas
that are first of all heavenly and eternal, and more specifically, which
are virtuous and praiseworthy.
We find, then, that true art not only may be
judged objectively by well-catechized and holy men and women, but also
that true art judges us! The holier we are as individuals, the
more appreciative of true art we will be. When we find men, women
or children who are attracted to inferior art, they are judged by that
attraction to be too much in the world. For this reason, the
excellence of art ought never to be brought down to the people, but the
people brought up to the art through catechesis and formation.
With 2000+ years of Church history behind us, there is no excuse for art
that assumes an audience of pre-Christian heathen. In the CLAA,
our goal is to raise up children who understand, appreciate and produce
true art because they understand, appreciate and live the true
faith. |
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