Syed Fahad Shah
Professor Nieves
Art History I
April 23rd, 2022
Art & Religion
Throughout history, art has always been used to reflect and spread religious ideas and
iconography. It has an effective role in almost every faith because of how art can make us feel,
but probably even more so when it comes to religion since it is already a very emotional outlet
for people. Whether it be a painting of a religious event, a monument dedicated to a religious
sight, or a sculpture of someone who spread their enlightenment around the world, the sight of
such artwork brings out a feeling of great reverence from people. That effect was accomplished
through the thoughtful compositions put together by the artists or architects who created them.
Some of the most renowned and talented works of art we value today are religious works of art.
Their popularity and stories attract people from all over the world to gather in one spot and
reflect on similar ideas. Some of the most well known churches used to attract large audiences
because of the religious artifacts they housed. In fact, that is the other thing religious art does
well, it can get us to think about very specific things. Most often it is our morals that the subject
matter will target.
During the Justinian reign of the Byzantine Empire, a great amount of architectural
projects were taken on back to back. One of the more important projects was built on Mount
Sinai in Egypt, where Moses received the 10 Commandments, making it a very important
religious site. Every year for hundreds of years people have made pilgrimages to the location
which is now home to the Monastery of Saint Catherine. Monasticism had started growing
rapidly during that era so a lot of people were leaving city life for a more isolated life of solitude
and worship so locations like this were built for people who chose to endure that path. In a
monastery, followers could live in a community focused entirely around their faith and take care
of each other while practicing extreme devotion. In the apse of the monastery, we can find a
mosaic called the Transfiguration of Christ. In this mosaic, we can observe Moses and his
disciples witness Jesus be transfigured into heat and light, a symbol meant to be parallel with the
burning bush story associated with Moses. The figures appear to be in wonder at the sight of
Jesus’ intense spiritual form. A scene that would be congruent to how the pilgrims of today
would feel to be at the sight where God spoke to Moses. The landscape of the mosaic is also
pretty much non-existent,it is instead replaced with a more supernatural kind of background,
Kleiner described it as “a world of mystical vision” (269). These “effects” achieve the difficult
task of bringing that past to life again. The artwork, in a sense, allows us to witness what we
believe, and the stronger our belief, the stronger the effect of the artwork.
The Islamic empire known as the Timurids named after their leader, Timur, was known to
have a deep appreciation for art and architecture. Cities like Herat from his empire became big
contributors in the production of “luxurious books” (Kleiner 306). These books were
commissioned by the Timurid sultan known as Husayn Mayqara and one of the most famous
painters that worked for him in Herat was known as Bihzad. The sultan personally had Bihzad
illustrate his copy of a book (Bustan) by a poet known as Sadi. There is one page dedicated to a
story from the Bible and Quran called the Seduction of Yusuf, in which Yusuf, also known as
Joseph, is being seduced by a woman named Zulaykha, who is also already the wife of another
man. In the painting, Yusuf resisted the woman and escaped a series of locked rooms she led him
through. The message being that a man can successfully resist any temptation that might result in
a sinful act if he wills it. This is an example of how art can reflect religious ideas because of the
parallels between this story and the religious prejudices towards sexual acts that would be
considered immoral.
Lastly, I wanted to talk about the reliefs that were arranged onto the doors of the Saint
Michael’s Cathedral. These reliefs are an illustrated retelling of Genesis on one side and the life
of Jesus on the other. I’m sure most of us are familiar with the story of Adam and Eve along with
how they lost their place in heaven. There is one specific panel with a relief dedicated to that
very moment and it was accomplished with great “expressive strength” (Kleiner 332). The pose
that God stands in is very intimidating next to the fearful and ashamed postures of Adam and
Eve. There are fingers being pointed at everyone in frame and it tells a great deal about the
intricacies of that story without any literal description. Such a composition can really put things
into perspective in many ways. It can help us think about how far we’ve come, how far we’ve
got to go, the trials that we will face, etc. This is the greatest thing about religious art, it is
multi-interpretable, the meaning of the story comes from the person reading it and what they got
out of it.
Art reflects religious ideas by illustrating the stories for us, allowing us to witness
exemplary actions like the story of Yusuf. Religious architecture like the Monastery of Saint
Catherine allows us to safely visit or even follow in the literal steps of those we trust and have
faith in, and remember them and their journeys. The artwork also reflects religious ideas by
bringing people together and communicating with our moral compasses through visual
interpretation.
