Jurate Macnoriute
Spirituality in Various Art Styles

In chapter Characteristics of Spirituality I divided the senses of spirituality into four groups:

1. The supernatural (by stories of religious books, ghost) belonging to realm of religion and faith.

2. Beauty (the golden ratio, style, perfection, inspired creative working, also artistic technique must be added) belonging to realm of mind and formalism. Here beauty unfolds physically on the outside.

3. Feelings (heart and love, feelings and what arouse them, morality, mood, inspired creative working) belonging to realm of psychology and ethics. Here beauty unfolds psychically inside.

4. Presence of meaning or purport of communication belonging to realm of thought and conceptuality.

*

Let us review shortly how changed spirituality's character in history of art.

Thus Ancient Egyptians characterized their gods as beautiful and shining. In Egypt beauty and lightness were rated as goodness. Ideal proportions and symmetry symbolized eternity. For finding good proportions Egyptians created canons. It is known that they used square grids and they already knew the golden ratio. Thus Egyptians recognized thirst and second groups of spiritual senses formed by me above.

Fig.1

In ancient India prevailed the third group of the senses. Aesthetic empathy Rasa was one of main categories.

In China beauty, spirituality and goodness were understood complicated enough. Chinese do not strongly separated beauty from ugliness and saw these phenomenons more dialectically. They appreciated naturalness and chastity (the third senses' group), silence and emptiness (as intended meaning) may be related with the forth group.

In world of Arabs God was comprehensible as beauty, light, harmony, perfection. In this aspect Arabs' aesthetics were nearer to Egyptian interpretation.

Ancient Greeks upraised above all importance of perfect cosmos. Harmony was main their aesthetical category, and canon had great importance. Greeks separated physical beauty from psychic beauty and reached harmony of both in their works of art. Naked human body was an object of admiration and recreation, human body's proportions were considered so beautiful that were used for architecture of sacred buildings. Thus Greeks recognized the second and the third groups of kinds of spirituality.

In the Middle Ages like in Arab world God and his harmonic order again became symbols of beauty. Aesthetical realm were strongly subordinated to Christian church, what shows that the first group of kinds of spirituality predominated.

The Renaissance raised human being and its body as main source of representation of beauty. Trust in human mind exceeded the faith in God. A lot of secular art masterpieces were created. Secular art influenced religious art in such degree that only their difference in plot remained. In this epoch of triumph of mind the second group of kinds of spirituality was recognized mainly.

In baroque art feelings and things of heart received a greater role. Classicism raised human mind again. Romanticism returned to baroque sensitiveness with yet greater passion.

It can be summed up as follows: in history second and third kinds of spirituality change one another, the first kind from the rise of Christianity little by little fades, and the forth kind receives importance when formalism (the second kind) weakens. History of art development shows that the majority of civilizations expressed closeness of spirituality with beauty and lightness.

*

Let us look at different art styles' portraits showing similar beautiful dames and try to notice differences of their spirituality.

Fig. 2. Peter Paul Rubens,	Fig. 3. Thomas Gainsborough, Portrait of a Lady in Blue, late 1770s, oil on canvas, The Hermitage at St. Petersburg	Fig. 4. J. A. D. Ingres, Mme. De Senonnes, 1814, oil on canvas, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Nantes

Lines of baroque portrait by Rubens jolly rise upwards, but dame's hairs as if close this rising balancing the composition. Expression of face corresponds to mood created by picture's whole. Positive emotions originate principle of construction and painting of the masterpiece. Spirituality underlying in Rubens's picture can be attributed to the third group of senses feelings.

By its style Gainsborough's depiction of beautiful lady in blue contains mixture of the continuation of baroque rococo and direction of English sentimentalism of 18th C. Figure's forms by hooked lines rise upwards as if vapor, what reminds about effect noticed in art of mentally ill individuals (?????). Difference from the mentally ill in retention of temperance and in presence of weight of figure. Expression of her face supersensitive. Its colors in comparison with other two portraits are colder. Emotionalism in high degree. Evidently this picture's spirituality depends also to the third group of senses feelings.

Romantic neoclassicism of Ingres is clearly different from first two examples. His dame is firm, contained, refined and beautiful to the least detail. Excellent draft, beautiful arrangement of details, and aside stilly aflame sensitivity form the image which is a great holiday for eye. So Ingres's spirituality contains mainly developed the second group (formalism) and additionally the third one -- feelings.

*

Next couple of analyzed pictures illustrates presence of the first group of senses of spirituality. Both pictures are on religious thematic and express this same bible story The Repentant Magdalene. The first romantic image being in Prado museum sooner represents Spanish school, the second picture depends to Venetian master Paolo Veronese, a master of dramatic pictures on theme of misconduct.

The first picture (Fig. 5) distinguished by little number of colors and in sensitive way of show of Mary Magdalene in candlelight. In my opinion effect of so hard emotion partly lies in picture's proportions as if the golden ratio, but only approximate (Fig. 7). We have to agree that sense of faith in this picture is expressed in very strong way. Another feature of this romantic painting its fragmentation, as if space around image is lacking. As I wrote in my earlier articles (????) fragmentation is characteristic for the mentally ill artists who have also too strong sensitiveness.

Fig. 7. Grid on Anonym Romantic's The Repentant Magdalene.

Veronese's Magdalene (Fig. 6) has no such hard emotional load. But why? The first cause, beautiful harmonic colors of Veronese are jolly of themselves -- Veronese is known as one of best colorists of all times. The second cause, Italian tradition did not appreciate evil and ugliness in art too much, like Spain's. The third cause, Veronese was an individual joyous of himself, and his delight is noticed in any his picture, even most dramatic.

It follows thence that beautiful harmonic colors help no for sense of faith, but they are instrumental of secular art; fragmentation helps to expression of religious feelings, but not the whole.

*

Now let us touch problems of individual styles in aspect of spirituality. For that I chose frescos of Raphael and Michelangelo with depicted prophet Isaiah (Fig. 8 and Fig. 9). The artists lived in one time, in this same country, both was representatives of Italian Renaissance. From biographic data we know that by night Raphael as if secretly watched Michelangelo's unfinished frescos in Cappella Sistina trying to steal technique of the master. Thus both investigated works of art are closely related. But they are different for individual styles.

Fig. 8. Raphael, The Prophet Isaiah, 1511-12, Church of Sant'Agostino at Rome

Fig. 9. Michelangelo, Isaiah, 1509, Fresco, 365 x 380 cm, Cappella Sistina, Vatican.

Comparing them firstly we notice difference in skills. Raphael's Isaiah drawn weakly enough, when Michelangelo's prophet as if living. Raphael's bodies as if doughy, Michelangelo's ones solid and beautiful. In fresco of Raphael intricacy, in Michelangelo's -- clearness and order. These all mentioned things are of technique. But we interested in paintings' spirituality. How does technique influence on image's spirit? Michelangelo's spirituality lies in sublimity, divinity, power, courage. Raphael's in fragility, softness, and timorousness, that is why his Madonnas are so beautiful.

Thus technique influences on spirituality: courageous wielding of technique gives spirit of courage, timorous wielding of technique gives spirit of timorousness.

*

In this chapter we came to such conclusions:

In history second and third kinds of spirituality change one another, the first kind from the rise of Christianity little by little fades, and the forth kind receives importance when formalism (the second kind) weakens. History of art development shows that the majority of civilizations expressed closeness of spirituality with beauty and lightness.

Beautiful harmonic colors help no for sense of faith, but they are instrumental of secular art; fragmentation helps to expression of religious feelings.

Ways of wielding of artistic technique influences on spirituality.

All articles on theme spirituality of art

1. Introduction to Spirituality of Art

2. Characteristics of Spirituality

3. Differences Between Sacred and Unholy Arts

4. Spirituality in Various Art Styles

5. Goodness and Evil in Art

6. Halo in European Art. Recognition of Picture Figures. Semantic Level of Art Analysis
   

7. Proportions of the Golden Ratio and Whole Numbers Determining Character of Spirituality in Art

8. National Spirituality

9. Particularities of Spirituality of Women Art

10. Spirituality and Mental Illness

11. Abstract Art and Spirituality.
    

12. Gallery of parodies of modern art creation

13. The Closing Section of Research Into Spirituality Of Art

Copyright © Jurate Macnoriute

THE SECRETS OF PERFECTION