Study of Praying Hands

    I greatly admired the drawing of Study of Praying Hands that was presented in our reading this week. It was drawn by Albrecht Durer in c. 1508 and is currently housed in the Albertina Museum located in Vienna, Austria. While researching the piece, I was amazed to find that this was not even a final drawing. It was instead just a template for Durer's work on a triptych altarpiece that was commissioned for a Dominican church. This piece was referred to as Heller's Altarpiece was housed in the church before being moved to a private residence. It was destroyed in a fire but a copy had been made that is still preserved today in the Historisches Museum, in Frankfurt, Germany. You can see the apostle kneeling in the lower right hand corner of the main frame has the 'praying hands' that are modeled in Durer's original drawing.

    The drawing, while simply a model, is rightly housed as an individual work of art. Durer, who is credited with bringing the Italian Renaissance north into Germany, shows the influence of the Renaissance thinking in the detail that is recreated in his work. The hands, showing being pressed together lightly in prayer, show incredible detail with the veins and tendons. The hands do not appear to someone young, but someone older. The detail in this drawing is so precise that many physicians feel that the model may have actually suffered from diabetes, based on the angle that the right little finger is bent at. Durer does an amazing job of showing the humanist aspect with the clear attention to detail, but also the religious aspects of the Renaissance, conveying the faith and devotion that the person praying must have had.

    Durer's work was also important in the Reformation era, as he became a follower of the teachings of Martin Luther. From that point forward almost all of Durer's works had religious overtones. He even wrote an inscription under the painting The Four Holy Men that read "All worldly rulers in these dangerous times should give good heed that that receive not human misguidance for the Word of God, for God will have nothing added to His Word or taken away from it." This of course was a strong statement denouncing many of the acts of the Catholic Church that Martin Luther was campaigning against. Naturally Durer's works reflected his strong faith, and proved to be an inspiration for many as his works were widely produced and distributed. Martin Luther said of Durer's death "It is natural and right to weep for so excellent a man . . . still you should rather think him blessed, as one whom Christ has taken in the fullness of his wisdom and by a happy death from these most troublous times, and perhaps from times even more troublous which are to come, lest one who was worthy to look on nothing but excellence, should be forced to behold things most vile."

    While I cannot say that Study of Praying Hands inspires me in a religious way, I can certainly appreciate the detail in them, and there is no doubt that the devotion of the person praying is beautifully conveyed, which by itself can certainly provide inspiration for hoping and believing in something bigger than ourselves.

    

The Rise of Science

One of the primary traits of the Renaissance period was the recognition of the importance of critical thinking. While the "Dark Ages" consisted of what could be considered mindless chanting and storyboard pictures for simpletons, the Renaissance introduced a new wave of philosophers and scientists. What is interesting is that while the men of the Renaissance period were great critical thinkers, and based their beliefs on findings of long study and experiments, they did so in an attempt to reconcile the physical world with God. While the Church dominated the Dark Ages with their approach of religious dogma being the final authority over its subjects, the Renaissance men attempted to understand and explain the mysteries of the world, with the idea of having a more educated reason to worship and praise their God.

One of these men was Marsilio Ficino, who was a student of Neo-Platonism. Ficinio wrote several volumes on what he considered Platonic Theology. This theory was an attempt to reconcile the philosophies and science of Plato, with the beliefs of the Catholic Church. Far from trying to undermine the Church, Ficino was attempting to create rational explanations for many of the Church's beliefs. One of Ficinio's most important theories was the belief of Plato's transmigration of the soul, and how that could be linked to the Church's position on the resurrection of the soul. In this way Ficino attempted to marry the concepts of both the Church and of the Sciences. In his opinion, this would lead men to greater faith, as they became more aware of their soul and its connection to the world around them.

Others followed Ficino's example, and many more studies of the physical world were conducted. However, many of those early scientists came into conflict with the Church, as their findings disagreed with the Church's stance on many matters. One of the most famous of these is Galileo. His studies of astronomy led to a trial by the Inquisition, as his findings about the Earth and its relative position in the Universe, contradicted the official beliefs of the Church. Galileo, however, was not attempting to undermine the Church. He, like Ficino, while attempting to understand the physical world better, still had great belief in the Christian God, and remained a faithful Catholic until his death.

What I find interesting is that while these early scientists paved the way for modern science with their methodical experiments and well rounded education, they did so in the attempt to better understand nature, and by doing so having a closer relationship to God. While today science uses the same methods of study, the prevailing belief among many is that God does not exist. Instead of drawing correlations between Christian beliefs and science, today scientists seem to be more determined than ever to discount the idea of any kind of supreme being that designed the universe.

While the great Renaissance period thinkers did much to advance our understanding of the physical world around us, the work they did appears to have had unintended consequences. While they wanted to explain God and Humanity in more precise terms than was being done by the Church, they succeeded in creating an almost entire new religion, that of Science, which dominates much of the world that we live in today.

Stained Glass

Stained glass windows from the Gothic period were an important part of Christendom.  Thanks to innovations in construction that were introduced in the Gothic period, such as flying buttresses, large sections of church walls could be dedicated to house windows, since the walls were no longer the only means of load bearing.  The Church and the artists used to create the stained glass windows took this as an opportunity to create story windows, which depicted religious scenes.  French theologian Jean de Garson is credited with the saying that the windows could be used to show "simple people unfamiliar with the Scriptures what they should believe". 

One of the most famous displays of stained glass is in the Chartres cathedral.  It has 176 panels of stained glass, of which about 152 are believed to be originals.  These stained glass windows at Chartres not only depict religious scenes such as the Passions of the Christ and the Virgin Mary, but also have panels dedicated to the various guilds and merchants that contributed to the building of Charters.  They could be considered among the first classified ads, as they advertised the wealth and success of the patrons.

The image here is a photo of a stained glass window known as The Blue Virgin in Chartres.  It depicts the Virgin Mary, with Jesus sitting in her lap.  As the Chartres cathedral was dedicated to the Virgin Mary, it is not surprising to see her pictured as being almost dominant over Jesus, as he is almost childlike in her lap.  They are surrounded by angels, and a dove representing peace.  The eye is naturally drawn upwards, towards the Kingdom of Heaven that is at the top of the panel.  This is an excellent example of a stained glass window that may have inspired the poet George Herbert to write

A man who looks on glass,
On it may stay his eye,
Or if he pleaseth through it pass,
And then the heavens espy.

The next image is what is called a Rose window.  The circular pattern carried two symbolism's, the sun, which was used to represent Christ, and a rose, which was a representation of the Virgin Mary.  Here we can how the artists uses lead to not only strengthen the window, but also creates a geometric pattern which again suggests a rose.  This time our eye is drawn to the center of the window, which again has the Virgin Mary with Christ sitting in her lap.

While I have not seen the Chartres windows in person, I have observed other cathedrals with their stained glass windows.  Their very nature encourages you to reflect and meditate upon their meaning, as outside light is softly diffused through the tinted window.  They can certainly invoke a somber mode, which many may find conducive to worship.

Stained glass windows are still used to decorate churches today.  They are still a way to dedicate scenes to benefactors of the work, and are still used to remind us of significant biblical or religious events.  The following picture is a top-down view of The Last Supper, created in 1984 for the Durham Cathedral.  While the style has changed slightly to allow for less prominent use of lead as part of the window, the premise is the same, a religious scene depicted in a window that allows diffused natural light.

Whether we are religious in nature or not, all can still appreciate the care and skill required in the creation of the stained glass window art form.