Masses of People Came Inside Notre Dame Cathedral to Worship the Goddess Athena Art Appreciation

Religious Art
Christian, Hindu, Buddhist & Islamic Arts.
Chief A-Z Alphabetize

Particular from The Isenheim Alterpiece,
showing the Crucifixion of Christ.
By Matthias Grunewald (1512-15) Musee
d'Unterlingen, Colmar. Ane of the
greatest religious paintings of the
German Renaissance.

Religious Fine art (700,000 BCE - nowadays)
Definition, History, Types

Contents

• Definition/Pregnant of Religious Art
• Types
• Purpose and Cost
• History of Religious Art
• Themes of Christian Art
• Not-Christian Religious Art
• Art Involving Ancestor Worship
• Hindu Fine art
• Buddhist Fine art
• Islamic Fine art
• Native Religious Art

Bronze sculpture of Shiva
the Hindu God (India).

Definition/Significant

What is Religious Fine art?

At that place are many means of defining religious fine art. Nosotros tin say it is:

(one) Any artwork that has a Christian or Biblical theme (Christian fine art); or
(two) Whatsoever artwork which illustrates the worship of whatever god, or deity; or
(3) Any artwork with an Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, Juche Judaic, Bahai, or Jainist theme, or any art depicting themes of the Shinto, Cao Dai or traditional Chinese religions.

The Sagrada Familia (begun 1882).
A wonderful example of mod
religious architectural design, by
the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi.

MEANING OF ART
For details of differing types
of visual and fine arts, see:
Meaning/Definition of Art

All the same, on further analysis, these definitions relate to religious "content", rather than religious "quality". For instance, a painting of a crucifixion scene which drew attention to some fundamentally weird or blasphemous physical attribute of the dying Christ would hardly merit the description religious art. Furthermore, certain religions (Eastern Orthodox, Islam) take certain rules circumscribing the type of fine art permitted: a sculpture of Muhammad would be regarded as a blasphemy, rather than a piece of religious fine art. Thus, to qualify every bit "religious", the painting, sculpture or architecture concerned must have some recognizable moral narrative, that imbues the piece of work with the necessary sacred "quality." As with the assessment of all fine art, determining whether or not this moral attribute is present, is essentially a subjective exercise, although in most cases the answer is probable to exist adequately straightforward.

Therefore, our suggested definition of religious art goes similar this:

Religious art is any piece of work whose theme supports the moral message of the religion it purports to illustrate. In this context, organized religion means whatever gear up of homo beliefs relating to that which they regard equally sacred, holy, spiritual or divine - whether or not deities are involved.

Common Types of Religious Art

Since Antiquity, the most common blazon of religious fine art has been painting and portable sculpture. However, the form of religious art with the greatest visual affect is undoubtedly architecture. From the Egyptian Pyramids to the Stonehenge stone circle, from the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul to the Umayyad Swell Mosque of Damascus, from the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem to French Gothic Cathedrals, from St Peter'south basilica in Rome to the Taj Mahal, religious authorities have consistently turned to compages to awe and influence their congregations. Interior and exterior artistic decorations for these Christian, Islamic and Buddhist churches typically include a broad range of decorative arts, including: calligraphy, ceramics, crafts, icons, illuminated manuscripts, metalwork, mosaic, stained glass, tapestry and wood-carving.

For more about the function and blueprint of pyramid tombs in Ancient Egypt, see: Egyptian Architecture (c.3000 onwards).

Purpose and Price of Religious Art

The role of religious art, direct or indirectly, is to win converts. Architecture is therefore the primary form, since a cathedral can inspire, teach and house a congregation. Public bronze can also inspire, while interior mosaics and stained glass can illustrate divine stories - not unimportant in ages where illiteracy was the norm. Past expounding the message of an ordered Universe under God, Christian art also contributed to the creation and preservation of social order. Only it came at a price. Thus in their attempts to revive the grandeur, beauty and prestige of Rome with the finest architectural designs, sculpture and frescoes, Pope Julius Ii (1503-thirteen) and Pope Leo Ten (1513-21) well-nigh bankrupted the Church building. In fact, Papal overspending on art was an important cause of the Reformation, equally it led to higher taxes on the common people, and greater corruption among the officers of the Church. Notwithstanding, during at to the lowest degree the 9 centuries between 800 and 1700, the Church of Rome was past far the largest patron of the arts.

History of Western Religious Art

Earliest Prehistoric Religious Fine art
No one knows for sure when homo showtime started creating specifically religious art. Nosotros practise know that diverse types of religious images began to appear during the era of Neolithic art: examples include: the "Enthroned Goddess" terracotta figurine (6,000 BCE) unearthed at Catal Huyuk, in Anatolia, Turkey; and the sandstone therianthropic figure known as the Fish God of Lepenski Vir (dated to 5,000 BCE), found at a Danube settlement in Serbia.

Religious Art of Antiquity (c.three,500 BCE - 400 CE)
Egypt was abode to a pregnant amount of religious fine art. The office of Egyptian artists was to exalt their Pharaoh - a secular King who was worshipped equally a divine ruler, supposedly the incarnation of the god Horus. The primary focus of Egyptian art was the pyramid - the tomb of the Pharaoh and his household - which was typically filled with paintings, sculptures and numerous other precious artifacts to help him survive and prosper in the afterlife. Temples were likewise built for the living Pharaoh, as they were for the gods of Ancient Greece and Rome, during the period 600 BCE - 400 CE. Religious Greek art is best exemplified past the Parthenon (dedicated to the Goddess Athena) and other temples on the Acropolis in Athens. Up until 400 CE, surviving sacred artworks are almost exclusively architectural or sculptural. Virtually all painting has disappeared. It was the same in Northern Europe, where formalism - perhaps religious structures began to appear from the end of the quaternary Millenium BCE, such as the Newgrange tomb in Ireland and Stonehenge in England.

Christian Art
Christian art (generally Biblical art) emerged some 150 years after the death of Christ. Initially early Christian fine art - including early on Christian sculpture - was actually a type of Christian Roman fine art, combining Roman imagery with classical Greek motifs: the image of Christ in Majesty derives from both Roman Regal portraits and depictions of the Greek God Zeus. Over the coming centuries, Christian iconography was gradually standardised, and harmonized with Biblical texts. For the world'south most ancient illuminated Christian manuscript, see: the Garima Gospels (390-660) from Federal democratic republic of ethiopia's Abba Garima Monastery.

[For a brusk guide to Jewish art, run into Jewish Art Museum Jerusalem, which has the globe's most extensive collection of Ashkenazi, Sephardi and Oriental Jewish arts and crafts.]

Byzantine Religious Fine art (c.400-1000)
Byzantine art in Constantinople created a number of extraordinary examples of Christian compages, including: the Chora Church, the Hagia Irene, the Church of St. Sergius and Bacchus, and the crawly Hagia Sophia (532-37). In add-on they built the Church building of St. Sophia in Sofia, Republic of bulgaria (527-65), and the Church of Hagia Sophia in Thessaloniki. Mosaic art was also common. For more than, run into: Christian Fine art, Byzantine Period.

Russian Religious Painting: Icons, Murals (c.950-1700)
The technique of icon painting spread throughout the Eastern Orthodox area, notably to Kiev, Novgorod and Moscow. Indeed, it became a major feature of Russian medieval painting. For the greatest Russian iconographers, meet: Theophanes the Greek (c.1340-1410), founder of the Novgorod schoolhouse of icon-painting; his young student Andrei Rublev (c.1360-1430), famous for his masterpiece, the Holy Trinity Icon (1411-25); and Dionysius (c.1440-1502), noted for his religious icons for the Volokolamsky monastery. The Moscow School of painting (c.1500-1700) featured the Stroganov brothers, Procopius Chirin, Nicephorus Savin and Simon Ushakov (1626-1686).

Religious Fine art in Ireland (c.600-1150)
Protected from Romanization and Barbarian invasion by its isolated position, Ireland became an important centre for early Christian art. Irish monasteries produced a number of outstanding illuminated manuscripts (eg. Book of Kells), whose illustrations drew upon designwork from the La Tene Celtic culture. Celtic metalwork fine art was also exemplified in a range of Irish ecclesiastical vessels, such every bit the Ardagh Chalice, the Moylough Belt Shrine, equally well as processional crosses similar the 8th/9th century Tully Lough Cross and the slap-up 12th century Cross of Cong. The third blazon of Christian fine art produced by this fusion of monastic devotion and Celtic artistry was Celtic Loftier Cross sculpture, which was produced in great numbers across Ireland during the period 750 to 1150.

Romanesque & Gothic Religious Art (800-1400)
King Charlemagne of the Franks led the resurgence of Christian religious art from his courtroom at Aachen. Carolingian fine art encompassed works of architecture, medieval sculpture, murals, illuminated gospel manuscripts, and more. Charlemagne's successors maintained these traditions during the era of Ottonian art - noted for its precious metalwork - supported past a revitalised Church based in Rome. Romanesque art and compages followed from the 11th century until about 1200 when it was superceded past Gothic architecture (both Rayonnant and Flamboyant) with its soaring arches and glorious stained glass windows. Gothic sculpture was more evocative and expressive. The Gothic period witnessed i of the swell flowerings of monumental Christian fine art, exemplified by a massive edifice program in French republic - see, for example, Notre Dame Cathedral (Paris) and Chartres Cathedral - and thereafter across Europe. Gothic Cathedrals were built in Laon, Paris (Notre Dame), Chartres, Soissons, Bourges, Reims, Amiens, Beauvais, Auxerre and other cities. In Federal republic of germany, the Gothic style is exemplified by structures such as Cologne Cathedral, while in England cathedrals appeared in Lincoln, Wells, Salisbury, Canterbury, Durham, and Ely, along with York Minster and Westminster Abbey. Underneath the architects, an army of rock masons and other craftsmen were employed to produce a mass of decorative holy artworks including cavalcade statues, mosaics and statue sculpture. The Late Gothic era was noted for its exquisite altar wood-carving, past craftsmen similar Veit Stoss (c.1447-1533) and Tilman Riemenschneider (c.1460-1531).

Northern Renaissance Religious Painting (1400-1600)
Altarpiece art was a regular feature of Netherlandish religious art during this catamenia, as exemplified past The Ghent Altarpiece (1425-32) by Jan van Eyck (1390-1441) and Hubert van Eyck (d.1426), The Portinari Altarpiece (1475) by Hugo van der Goes (1440-82), The Isenheim Altarpiece (1515) by Matthias Grunewald (1470-1528) and The Deposition (1435), created past Roger Van der Weyden (1400-1464) for the Church building of Notre Dame du Dehors (now in the Museo del Prado, Madrid). Run across also the extraordinary and compelling fantasy paintings Garden of Earthly Delights and The Haywain Triptych (1516) by Hieronymus Bosch, and the Tower of Babel by Pieter Bruegel the Elder.

Italian Renaissance Religious Art (1400-1600)
Anticipated past Giotto's Scrovegni Chapel frescoes (1303-10), quattrocento Italian Renaissance art was financed by the Christian Church and also by secular leaders, similar the Medici and Gonzaga families, every bit was the more conservative Sienese Schoolhouse of Painting. Yet, a huge proportion of early Renaissance painting and sculpture had religious motifs or themes: famous examples include: Masaccio's Holy Trinity (1428) and Brancacci Chapel frescoes (1424-8), The Declaration (c.1450) past Fra Angelico (1395-1455), and The Terminal Supper (1495-8) by Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519). High Renaissance painting included such religious masterpieces every bit the Sistine Madonna (1513-14) by Raphael (1483-1520), and the amazing Genesis fresco (1508-1512) and Last Sentence fresco (1536-41) in the Sistine Chapel, by Michelangelo (1475-1564).

The about famous work of Renaissance architecture was the redesigned and rebuilt St Peter's Basilica in Rome (1506-1626).

Venice
Venetian painting possessed a number of outstanding painters of religious themes, notably Titian (1477-1576) and Tintoretto (1518-94), too as the colourist Paolo Veronese (1528-88) - noted for his huge Biblical banquet-scenes, such equally Wedding Feast at Cana (1563, Louvre) and Feast in the House of Levi (1573, Venice University). See: Legacy of Venetian Painting on European art.

Renaissance religious art in the provinces is possibly exemplified by the Supposition of the Virgin (Parma Cathedral) (1526-30) by Antonio Allegri da Correggio (1489-1534).

Religious Mannerist Paintings (1530-1600)
The Roman Catholic Church had an clashing attitude towards the stylized Mannerism fine art movement. In Italy, for case, following the Council of Trent, the stylized forms and artificiality of Mannerist painting was viewed as an unnecessary interference with the liturgical message. For an example of a Mannerist painter who inverse his manner in line with the Church'southward instruction, see: Federico Barocci (1526-1612). For more than, see: Venetian altarpieces (1500-1600). In Spain, however, the expressiveness of the new mode was seen as a perfect vehicle to depict intense religious experiences.

1 major development at this time, thanks to the likes of Antonello da Messina (1430-1479) and Caravaggio (1573-1610), among others, was the employ of more realistic human forms when depicting the Holy Family and other Biblical figures. Run across, for instance, Christ Crowned with Thorns (Ecce Human) (1470) past Antonello da Messina. Religious Renaissance architecture is exemplified past the Dome of Florence's Cathedral, designed past the architect and creative person Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446), and by the rebuilding of the 1,100 year old church of St Peter's in Rome (1506-1626) past Bramante, Raphael, Sangallo, Maderno, Michelangelo and Bernini. This project extended across the High Renaissance into the Baroque era.

Spanish Renaissance School (16th Century)
The Renaissance in Spain lagged backside that of Italian republic and elsewhere. Even so, Castilian piety and devotion to the religious dogmas of Rome was accented. Not surprisingly therefore, their artists were heavily involved in propagating and illustrating the Christian message. They included: Alonso Berruguete (c.1486-1561) the greatest of all Renaissance sculptors in Spain, whose masterpieces include: the altarpiece for the monastery of La Mejorada Valladolid (1526), and the choir stalls in Toledo Cathedral (1539-43). Also, Juan de Juni (1507-1577), the famous French Mannerist sculptor, who specialized in religious themes and in the dramatic expression of emotion, as exemplified past his two groups of the Entombment of Christ (1544, Valladolid Cathedral) and (1571, Segovia Cathedral). Castilian religious painting of the Late Renaissance menstruation is exemplified by the Mannerist painter El Greco (1541-1614), whose major works include: The Holy Trinity (1577); The Disrobing of Christ (El Espolio) (1577); The Burying of Count Orgaz (1586-88); Christ driving the Traders from the Temple (1600); The Opening of the 5th Seal of the Apocalypse (1608); The Admiration of the Shepherds (1612-14); The Repentant Peter (1600); and Christ Carrying the Cantankerous (1600).

Bizarre Religious Art (1600-1700)
Following Martin Luther's Reformation (c.1517), and the emergence of the new forms of Protestant Reformation Art, - the Vatican launched a vigorous campaign of Catholic Counter-Reformation art, designed to win dorsum its wayward congregations in Europe. Painting, as well every bit painterly techniques such equally Caravaggism, was a key element of this religious propaganda campaign. The church wanted to communicate its message direct to the faithful and demanded from its artists an uncompromising clarity. To comply with this, paintings had to exist, above all, realistic, and Caravaggio's brand of unsophisticated realism was absolutely tailor-made for the Counter-Reformation campaign. Past stripping abroad the intellectual and stylistic pretensions of belatedly Mannerism - a manner which had become appreciated only by an educated minority, he gave to painting the instant inspirational impact demanded by the church building of Rome. Examples of his religious realism include: The Calling of St Matthew (1600), The Martyrdom of St Matthew (1600), Supper at Emmaus (1601), The Crucifixion of St Peter (1601), Conversion of St Paul on the manner to Damascus (1601), Death of the Virgin (1601-6) and The Entombment of Christ (1601-3).

Another type of art favoured by the Catholic Counter-Reformation was quadratura church fresco painting, designed to inspire congregations with illusionistic devices. See for case: Apotheosis of St Ignatius (1694) past Andrea Pozzo.

In Kingdom of spain, the devout Francisco de Zurbaran (1598-1664), strongly influenced by Castilian Quietism, produced holy paintings for numerous monasteries and Religious Orders (Carthusians, Capuchins, Dominicans, Jeronymites, among others), as well equally Cathedrals and other ecclesiastical authorities. Amongst his noted works are Christ on the Cross (1627), Apotheosis of St. Thomas Aquinas (1631), and Adoration of the Shepherds (1638). The great Diego Velazquez (1599–1660), while famous as a virtuoso portraitist, too produced a number of holy paintings similar The Immaculate Formulation (1618), Joseph'due south Coat (1630) and Christ Crucified (1632). Spanish Baroque religious sculpture is well represented by the Seville artist Juan Martinez Montanes (1568-1649), who was dubbed the God of Wood for his carving skills, sculpted mainly wooden crucifixes and religious figures. His best known works include The Merciful Christ (1603, Seville Cathedral) and the Santiponce Altarpiece (1613); and also by the explosive Alonso Cano (1601-1667), known as the "Spanish Michelangelo", whose masterpiece is The Immaculate Conception (1655, Granada Cathedral).

In Flanders, the greatest exponent of 17th century religious Flemish painting was Rubens (1577-1640), the undisputed leader of the Flemish Baroque school, post-obit in the footsteps of earlier religious artists like Robert Campin, Hugo van der Goes and Hans Memling.

In Italia, home of the Roman Catholic Church building, painters like Nicolas Poussin (1594–1665), and Claude Lorrain (1600–1682) received numerous religious commissions. The greatest exponents of Italian religious sculpture were the incomparable Bernini (1598-1680) - see his Ecstasy of St.Teresa (1645–52), created for the Cornaro Chapel of the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome - and his corking rival Alessandro Algardi (1598-1654), both of whom were given numerous Papal commissions. The Catholic Bizarre style gave rise to an emotional style of compages, exploiting to the full the melodramatic potential of the urban landscape. This is exemplified above all by Saint Peter'southward Foursquare (1656-67) and its approaches, in front of St Peter'due south Basilica in Rome.

Protestantism had its own religious art. 17th Century Dutch painting features some outstanding Old Attestation works by Rembrandt. In addition, Dutch Realists similar Harmen van Steenwyck (1612-56), January Davidsz de Heem (1606-83), Pieter Claesz (1597-1660), Willem Kalf (1622-93) and Willem Claesz Heda (1594-1681), introduced a genre called Vanitas painting (based on Ecclesiastes 12:8 "Vanity of vanities saith the preacher, all is vanity"), whose principal theme was the ephemeral nature of life and the absurdity of human vanities. See likewise the church interior paintings of Emanuel de Witte (1615-92) and Pieter Jansz Saenredam (1597-1665).

It was during the period roughly 1650 to 1750 that the nature of the European art marketplace began to modify. Up until 1650, most art had been public fine art aimed at the masses - more often than not in the form of compages and sculpture, and most of it religious. By 1750, this type of public art had been superceded by portable easel art - more often than not paintings for commercial customers. The era of large-calibration spending by Church authorities was over.

Decline of Religious Art (1700 onwards)
The 18th century was the era of absolute monarchs, whose despotic dominion was based on the and so-chosen 'Divine Right of Kings' appointed by God. However, these monarchs, like Louis XIV, Louis XV, the Russian Romanovs, and the Austrian Habsburgs, were besides concerned with exalting their own secular status and propping up their creaking empires to invest money in religious painting, sculpture or architecture. Furthermore, except in the Iberian Peninsular, where Spanish piety never slackened, the ability of the Roman Cosmic Church had been severely weakened past the destruction of its monasteries during the previous ii centuries. This combination of secular and ecclesiastical weakness meant that - with odd exceptions, such as the Catholic commissions awarded to Giambattista Tiepolo (1696-1770) in Bavaria and Venice - there was a significant reduction during the 18th century in the amount of money devoted to religious art. Moreover, this period saw a huge increment in demand on behalf of merchants and land-owners, for portraiture and topographical landscapes. As it was, the menstruation concluded with the French Revolution, which heralded a change in sentiment across Europe. Henceforth, art would gloat people rather than deities.

The 19th century produced even less religious art. Although the Industrial Revolution created meaning surplus wealth for both nations and individuals, information technology wasn't invested in Christian fine art. Instead it went into the development of social and public services. The only regular commissions offered by Church authorities were for free-standing sculpture to commemorate deceased Bishops and other clerics. And while a few painters continued to paint Biblical scenes, the need for religious compositions slumped - a trend which continued into the 20th century. But see A Burial in Ornans (1850) by the realist painter Gustave Courbet, and the strange symbolist works of the Belgian painter James Ensor (1860-1949), notably Christ's Entry Into Brussels.

20th Century Religious Art
A feature of modern Christian fine art in the Westward has been the temple architecture of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). Its development - from the simple church-similar design of the Kirtland Temple (constructed 1830s), to the intricate Gothic styles of the early Utah temples, to the mass-produced modern temples of today - chronicles the evolution of mod religious architecture itself. The nigh recent postmodernist churches include the Community of Christ Temple in Independence, Missouri; Unity Temple, the Unitarian Universalist in Chicago designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959); the Pietro Belluschi-designed Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption (San Francisco); and the Jose Rafael Moneo-designed Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels (Los Angeles). Sadly, the 20th century has likewise witnessed enormous destruction: many beautiful churches and other religious works of art were destroyed by the Communist regimes of Eastern Europe. As far as sacred painting is concerned, 20th century painters have, with a few exceptions, ignored information technology, preferring to cater for the more secular modernist and contemporary art collector. Infrequent mod religious paintings include: Christ on the Cantankerous (1936) by Georges Rouault (1871-1958); Ecce Homo (1925) by Lovis Corinth (1958-1925); Christ at Emmaus (1963) past Patrick Caulfield (1936-2005); Crucifixion 3.85 (1985) by Antonio Saura (1930-98); and the strange abstract piece of work St John (1988) past Gerhard Richter (b.1932). Meantime, postmodernist religious sculpture is surely exemplified by Virgin Female parent (2005) past Damien Hirst (b.1965), which stands in the Plaza of Lever Business firm, New York Urban center.

Themes of Christian Fine art

Painters and sculptors have been commissioned by Popes, religious and secular regime to illustrate a very wide range of scenes from the Bible. The pick of scenes may be adamant by religious politics, equally well as the type of fine art form and media involved. I of the virtually famous themes of religious sculpture, for instance, is David and Goliath: witness the iii Davids sculpted by Donatello (1386-1466), Andrea del Verrocchio (1435-1488), and Michelangelo (1475-1564). Leonardo handled the difficult theme of the Immaculate Conception in his cute Virgin of the Rocks (1484-half-dozen, Louvre, Paris). Occaisonally, artists specialized in sure biblical themes: for instance the female Bizarre painter Artemisia Gentileschi (1593–1656) painted 'Judith Beheading Holofernes several times.

Popular Art-Subjects From The New Testament Gospels

- Annunciation - Adoration of the Magi - Ascension of Jesus - Assumption of the Virgin Mary - Coronation of the Virgin - Crucifixion eg. The Crucifixion by Tintoretto - Descent from the Cross - Buss of Judas - The Lamentation - The Last Supper - The Last Judgment - Madonna and Child

- Maesta - Mocking of Christ - Nativity of Jesus - Noli me tangere - The Parables eg. Return of the Prodigal Son past Rembrandt. - Pietà - The Raising of the Cross - Transfiguration eg. The Transfiguration past Raphael.

Popular Art-Subjects From The Old Testament Gospels

- Adam and Eve - Cain and Abel - David and Goliath - Bathsheba with David'due south Letter - Genesis - John the Baptist

- Judith and Holofernes - The Prophets - Sacrifice of Isaac - Flying of the Jews Into Arab republic of egypt - Scenes from the Life of Moses - Nuptials Banquet at Cana

Non-Christian Religious Art

In this cursory overview, phrases like Hindu art, Buddhist art and Islamic art, are no more than umbrella terms for arts and decorative crafts created within the territories occupied by the civilisation concerned. Compages and sculpture (oftentimes combined) are the two most visually absorbing art forms. Encounter, for case, the 11th century Kandariya Mahadeva Temple (1017-29) in India, the 12th century Angkor Wat Khmer Temple (1115-45) in Kingdom of cambodia, and the famous 17th century Taj Mahal (1632-54) - all of which are outstanding examples of non-Christian religious compages. Other art forms include relief sculpture, body-painting, bronze-casting, calligraphy, carpet-weaving, ceramics, costume decoration, curtain, drawing, embroidery, face-painting, friezes, article of furniture making, gemstone etching, goldsmithing, illumination of manuscripts, ivory carving, jewellery-making, lacquer-painted bookbinding, lustre-ware, metalworking, mosaics, painting, pottery, tapestry fine art, textile design, wood carving, among others.

Art Involving Ancestor Worship

This type of religion embaces a variety of different practices and beliefs regarding the spirits of deceased relatives. Societies whose arts and culture were closely connected with the commemoration of religious ancestor worship, include several from the ancient civilization of the Mediterranean expanse - run across, for instance, Aegean Fine art (2600-1100 BCE) - as well as Asian art from Nippon, China, Korea, SE Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Antecedent worship was particularly widespread in ancient China. For a close expect at the Chinese cultures involved, run across the following resources:

- Chinese Neolithic Art (7500-2000 BCE)
- Xia Dynasty Culture (2100-1600 BCE)
- Shang Dynasty Art (1600-1050 BCE)
- Zhou Dynasty Art (1050-221 BCE)
- Qin Dynasty Art (221-206 BCE)
- Han Dynasty Art (206 BCE - 220 CE)

Hindu Fine art
Hinduism, dating from the 2nd Millennium BCE, is the chief religion in India, with about 850 million followers and some 64 types of traditional fine art. Hindu painting, for instance, is exemplified past early and medieval works from Ajanta, Bagh, Ellora and Sittanavasal, while Hindu sculpture is marked not by a sense of plastic fullness but rather by a linear character with an accent on outline, every bit in the Shiva statuette [left]. Hindu architecture embraces temples like the Akshardham in Delhi, Hoysaleswara Temple at Halebidu, Chennakesava Temple at Belur, the Kesava Temple at Somanathapura, Brihadeeswara Temple, Thanjavur, and Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangam.

Further Reading About Hindu Art
For a brief survey of Indian art, see: India: Painting & Sculpture.
For more than specific articles, see the following:
- Classical Indian Painting (Upwardly to 1150 CE)
- Post-Classical Indian Painting (14th-16th Century)
- Mughal Painting (16th-19th Century)
- Rajput Painting (16th-19th Century)
- Indian Sculpture (3300 BCE - 1850)

Buddhist Art
Buddhism, founded past Siddhartha Gautama around 600 BCE, has well-nigh 380 million adherents spread across Republic of india, central and southern Asia and Japan. Buddhist architecture is mainly devoted to temples, monasteries and shrines, including stupas, dagobas and pagodas, across Asia. But Buddhist iconography used in arts similar sculpture, varies according to region: in Southeast Asia (Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, Republic of indonesia), Theravada traditions encourage images of Buddha in mediating or reclining positions; in central Asia (China, Korea, Japan, Tibet, Bhutan, Vietnam, Afghanistan), Mahayana traditions have led to a wider range of representations, including different Buddhas, saints, bodhisattvas and other deities. For more than, see Chinese Buddhist Sculpture (c.100-present). Buddhist iii-D art is illustrated by the sandstone sculptures of Mathura, Bharat. (For more than, see: Japanese Art, and Chinese Art.)

Notation: Chinese Buddhist fine art - notably painting, sculpture, and building blueprint - proliferated during the Eastern Jin (317-420), the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420-581), the Sui empire (589-618), well-nigh of the Tang (618-906) and the Vocal (906-1279) eras. For more than, see the following resource:

- Arts of the 6 Dynasties Period (220-589)
- Sui Dynasty Art (589-618)
- Tang Dynasty Art (618-906)
- Vocal Dynasty Art (906-1279)
- Yuan Dynasty Art (1271-1368)

In Korea, where Buddhism arrived from China around 370 CE, Buddhist civilisation remained strong for longer: for details, run into Korean Fine art (c.3,000 BCE onwards). In India, the relationship between Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam has been extremely circuitous. Hindu art was influenced by the younger Buddhist art, until Buddhism faded around 950 CE century partly every bit a upshot of the growing influence of Islam (and Islamic art) in parallel with Hinduism. Because of this influence, Hindu architects adjusted their designs to accomodate the traditions of the new religion, as illustrated in the design and construction of Taj Mahal, and Gol Gumbaz. But note also the recent clash of religious ideologies which occurred in Transitional islamic state of afghanistan, when Taliban muslims destroyed the monumental stone sculptures known every bit The Buddhas of Bamyan.

For more than about the development of Buddhist arts and culture in East Asia, see: Chinese Art Timeline (c.eighteen,000 BCE - nowadays).

Islamic Art
Islam, founded past the prophet Muhammad in the 7th century CE, has around 1.5 billion followers. Similar its fellow faiths, Islamic art is a mixture of many cultures. Although information technology reflects the Muslim creed concerning the absolute power of The I God (Allah), it combines elements from Greek and early Christian art, every bit well equally the great Centre Eastern cultures of Arab republic of egypt, Byzantium, and ancient Persia, forth with the eastern heritage of India and Red china. Even so, the influence of the Arabs, who conquered the ancient Islamic world, is paramount. Information technology has propagated the Koran (Qur'an), the Arabic form of writing, the Kufic and Naskhi scripts of traditional Islamic calligraphy, an space diverseness of abstract ornament, and an entire system of linear brainchild (Arabesques) that is peculiar to all forms of Islamic Art. This abstruse designwork balances the Islamic ban on figurative reproduction.

Other notable Islamic arts and crafts include: ceramic art notably lustre-ware, stone-carving, material silk art, and wall painting. Book illumination was an Iranian specialty, as exemplified by the Manafi al-Hayawan (Usefulness of Animals) manuscript (1297), and the Jami al-tawarikh past Rashid al-Din. Enamelled glass and metalwork were also highly prized, take for instance the exquisite metal basin of Mamluk silverwork known as the "Baptistere de Saint Louis" (Syria, 1290-1310). Islamic architecture is especially famous for religious structures such every bit: The Dome of the Rock (Jerusalem, built by Abd al-Malik, 691); the Slap-up Mosque of Damascus (finished 715); the Alhambra Palace (Granada, c.1333-91); the Dandy Mosque of Samarkand (begun 1400); The Ottoman mosque of Sultan Ahmet I ("the Blueish Mosque") (Istanbul, 1603-17); the domed mosque of Shaykh Lutfullah (1603-18), built by Safavid architects in Isfahan; Mughal compages includes the palace complex of Fatehpur Sikri (c.1575) congenital during the reign of Akbar, as well as the sublime Taj Mahal (1630-53), congenital by Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal.

Native Religious Fine art
Tribal fine art (aka Archaic Native art), pregnant craft produced past indigenous natives from tribal societies in Africa, the S Pacific and Indonesia, Commonwealth of australia, the Americas and Alaska, typically is much more sacred or organized religion-oriented than Western art. This is because tribal religions were all-pervasive. Thus tribal pictorial imagery (paintings), sculpture (rock or woods-carving) or 3-D models (masks) embodied the vital forces believed to exist in all living thing. Sometimes these images represented the spirits of the expressionless, the vital essence of tribal ancestry. Unfortunately many such artworks accept perished or been bartered away with white explorers. What remains is mainly stonework (sculpture, temples), some earthworks, or diverse forms of rock fine art. Even so, some extraordinary finds of native religious art take been made, including: (1) prehistoric paintings in the Laas Gaa'50 caves at Hargeisa in Somalia, which contained drawings of men and women worshipping cattle and performing religious rituals; (2) paintings at Ukhahlamba-Drakensberg, Due south Africa, portraying animals and humans which, according to experts, represent religious beliefs. For more than details of primitive religious art, see: Tribal Art.

• For more about Christian, Islamic, Hindu, or Buddhist arts, see: Homepage.

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