What makes a work of art Christian - is it in the eye of the artist or the viewer? How was Christian art created and sustained over two millennia? And what is its relationship to the art of other great world religions? These are some of the fascinating questions discussed in this innovative and thoughtful book about our understanding of Christian art today, in which the author treats the art as a response to universal human themes: relationships between women and men, food as an expression of friendship, refugees seeking asylum, coping with old age. Drawing extensively on the international collections of the British Museum, these contemporary themes are followed through a wide range of objects, from pilgrim tokens to ivory figurines and gold and enamel reliquaries, and from a rich selection of prints and drawings to Byzantine, Greek and Russian icons. Stunning examples of the decorative arts yield original and lesser-known Christian iconography as well as significant paintings and church frescoes. The understanding of Christian art is broadened by showing how Christian artists have responded to a variety of visual traditions, such as post-Renaissance scientific and philosophical discoveries, and concludes with an assessment of the present state of Christian art in the 21st century.
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