Gospel Story In Art

More than 100 fun and expressive art activities for preschoolers, each with a Bible story to read aloud!

Excerpt from The Gospel Story in Art For many years before the present volume was actually begun John LaFarge had cherished the wish to write a book on the representation of the Christian story in art, a work for which few men were so well fitted. Born and educated in the older faith of Christendom, he brought to his task not only the reverence of a believer, but also full knowledge of the widely different forms through which the life of Christ has been expressed by artists. He was familiar with the classic writings of the Western and the older Eastern world, and with the legends and traditions told from father to son by the firesides of Europe, or among the islands of the South Sea. Through early study he so trained bis eye and mind that after fifty years he could recall the composition and colouring of a picture. He did not, however, trust to his memory wholly, and in almost every instance the painting or sculpture mentioned in the following pages was described with an engraving or photograph beside him. The originals could not all be reproduced, but those omitted are brought before us by his comprehensive words. Much of this, his last work, was dictated, with frequent intervals due to pain or weariness, and the end came before he could give it the searching and minute revision he would have wished to bestow upon it. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

An examination of the relationship between art and the Holy Scriptures.

In viewing the great works of sacred Western art, many people find difficulty in understanding the stories and identifying the figures portrayed in them. This informative guide decodes these often-mysterious scenes and reveals a vibrant world of images from the Christian tradition for museum visitors, students, and art enthusiasts alike. Gospel Figures in Art examines depictions of stories and figures from both the New Testament's canonical gospels (the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) and the apocryphal gospels (early Christian writings excluded from the New Testament because of their unsubstantiated authorship), which served as rich sources of inspiration for medieval and Renaissance artists. Illustrated with masterpieces from many of the world's premier museums, the art works provided as visual references are carefully analyzed. Sections are devoted to the principal figures in the life of Jesus Christ-his family and the evangelists-and to the major biographical turning points: his birth and baptism, his public life, the miracles and good deeds he performed, his crucifixion, resurrection, and the events that followed. This indispensable resource makes the icons and narratives of sacred art come to life.

For centuries, Bible stories and ancient Greek and Roman mythology were the main subjects of Western art. Patrick de Rynck examines over 200 of these works.

Published on the occasion of the exhibition organized by the Kimbell Art Museum and shown there November 18, 2007 - March 30, 2008.