Creating The Divine Artist

An investigation of why Michelangelo first, and then many other, Renaissance artists and works were called "divine" by contemporaries, this study ranges from fourteenth-century praise of Dante to a variety of sixteenth-century habits of courtly compliment.

Turning a skeptical eye on the idea that Renaissance artists were widely believed to be as utterly admirable as Vasari claimed, this book re-opens the question of why artists were praised and by whom, and specifically why the language of divinity was invoked, a practice the ancients did not license. The epithet ''divino'' is examined in the context of claims to liberal arts status and to analogy with poets, musicians, and other ''uomini famossi.'' The reputations of Michelangelo and Brunelleschi are compared not only with each other but with those of Dante and Ariosto, of Aretino and of the ubiquitous beloved of the sonnet tradition. Nineteenth-century reformulations of the idea of Renaissance artistic divinity are treated in the epilogue, and twentieth-century treatments of the idea of artistic "ingegno" in an appendix.

An investigation of why Michelangelo first, and then many other, Renaissance artists and works were called "divine" by contemporaries, this study ranges from fourteenth-century praise of Dante to a variety of sixteenth-century habits of courtly compliment.

Creating Divine Art - The Origin of Inspiration The heart is the place where we experience the beauty all around us - in nature, art, or children - and also the suffering we witness every day. Our heart - being also the door to the spiritual or the wisdom of the universe and its higher inspirations – is a place of true transformation. Artistic expression of all kind gives us a unique tool to learn to embrace beauty and suffering, so that we create a movement outwards that opens the door to joy and can benefit also others. A dialogue with a group of highly evolved spirits introduce us in this book to the different levels of inspiration we can feel when creating art: in dance, painting, music, writing, photography, sculpture, architecture, movies, etc. This book explains – with the help of over 100 colour photos - how to get in touch with those higher inspiration levels and how to translate them into our works of spontaneous or professional art. What you’ll discover in this book you won’t find anywhere else. Here the author offers a unique collection of divine beauty in art and explains the way how to get there.

Imagine just for a moment, life the way you have always dreamed it could be. Feeling connected to God and hearing His voice, creating with the Holy Spirit, following His lead as you share your art and see it transform people's lives. Imagine a world where artists are free to thrive spiritually, artistically, and financially in everything they do. Imagine a life where your mind is clear, renewed, and focused on God's purposes for your life and art; no longer struggling with negative patterns of thinking that have held you back for years. My friend, this is not some pie in the sky dream that will never come true. This is the way God designed life to be lived in His Kingdom. This can be your story, fully alive and thriving in everything you do. In Created to Thrive, you'll learn how to start living life from a new blueprint based on God's Word and His divine design for your life as an artist in His Kingdom. You'll begin to see your life without limits as you learn to align with Him and cooperate with the Holy Spirit to create new patterns of living. Your mind will be renewed, your heart will be unlocked, and your imagination will be set free to resonate with the Kingdom that's already living inside of you. You were made to be more than just a frustrated artist, struggling to make sense of your life and art. Get ready to become the artist you were created to be, get ready to thrive!

'The Divine Artist' - 'Art for God's Sake' "God the Divine Artist became the art - He, Jesus, hung on the wooden frame of the cross. He would provide the inspiration for the future artists in these end-times, and to emblazon buildings and canvases, with a chiaroscuro spectrum of Renaissance thought along the way of centuries' Stephen Bennett. Art and artisans can change the world, that possibility is seen all around us; through film, art, music, fashion, architecture, social media, digital platforms, an endless list. Yet, creativity is not just for the artist; creativity is at the very heart and centre of Christianity. In God's eyes everything is art, He is an artist in every sense of the word, and all things He created are for His purposes. The heavens and the world are a canvas oiled and stretched, for us to walk on, and create in. Art as an awakening is normal daily fare in our digital world; God's final purposes for art are at hand in this 21st century. He has many artistic visions to give His artisans on earth. In this book you will get to know God's character as the Divine Artist, and you can let your art be inspired for His sake"

From a world-renowned painter, an exploration of creativity’s quintessential—and often overlooked—role in the spiritual life “Makoto Fujimura’s art and writings have been a true inspiration to me. In this luminous book, he addresses the question of art and faith and their reconciliation with a quiet and moving eloquence.”—Martin Scorsese “[An] elegant treatise . . . Fujimura’s sensitive, evocative theology will appeal to believers interested in the role religion can play in the creation of art.”—Publishers Weekly Conceived over thirty years of painting and creating in his studio, this book is Makoto Fujimura’s broad and deep exploration of creativity and the spiritual aspects of “making.” What he does in the studio is theological work as much as it is aesthetic work. In between pouring precious, pulverized minerals onto handmade paper to create the prismatic, refractive surfaces of his art, he comes into the quiet space in the studio, in a discipline of awareness, waiting, prayer, and praise. Ranging from the Bible to T. S. Eliot, and from Mark Rothko to Japanese Kintsugi technique, he shows how unless we are making something, we cannot know the depth of God’s being and God’s grace permeating our lives. This poignant and beautiful book offers the perspective of, in Christian Wiman’s words, “an accidental theologian,” one who comes to spiritual questions always through the prism of art.

"Rabbi Cowen's creative engagement with these contemporary artists reveals how spirituality can enhance the power of the visual image, the emotional persuasiveness of the literary text, and the neurological impact of music ..." - Mel Alexenberg, formerly Professor of Art at Columbia University In the realm of contemporary aesthetic high culture, there are many painters, writers and composers of great talent, but few with deep religious knowledge and belief. In the realm of faith, there are many with deep belief and religious knowledge, but very few with developed great artistic talent. Is there some way of making good the absent but essential combination of artistic prowess and religious depth required to produce great religious artworks in the various artistic media? In response to this question, this book addresses the theory and practice of engaging significant artists – not necessarily religiously learned or committed – to draw forth from them genuinely religious high art. After exploring the concept of the religious artwork, it documents three religious-creative encounters through which important religious artworks emerged, in the realms of painting, literature and music. It concludes with thoughts on the methodology and kinds of successful engagements between religion and aesthetics – with broader implications for education to religious art.