ART AND RELIGION

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 12507, 21 May 1906, Page 9

ART AND RELIGION

PULPIT REFERENCES

*The subject of Art ami Religion waS with by Bishop J uhus in t.:e foatee oi hi« eennou at die Cathedral teterday morning. ro:eienco being, to Holmaa rtuut s lamou*. pic- ( -The Light uf tJio Woilu," ruexhibited hero. His Lordship, who preached horn the jl "And tht-'ir <-'«■' weie opunt*i, ana ISr knew Him,' said Uiat uuiu:g uk™,«t wwk givac crowds l;aU yatJiered 10 Pfa one oi vie greatest woriii. oi an. ■ SSw was the iuiluoneo oi etictt a pici jy, juat upon our miuuc, ;i-ml wn-.r.: lie." lii« Wii.s, tuiU ill.was a maaerrn-ce or roi.gious. P*t Rc-ligious art ttiio meant 10 inffrnrct -Nature to iw; i;ot inerdy t>» Emesent it, and the nigiu*:, laiction oi religious an wan tJwi v afforded a spiritual interpiet.it.iou oi \«ture. A picture waxs v po-jr, dvii.v jjoß- unkts J'u revealed the tec-ret c-i Nature's beatry, and the t-vciei oi Nature's beauty was nothing c.co bu: tbe revelation oi God lliiu.-ell. Art j religion wore w closely coiinocUd, that he beiievud then.- w\an no true art in the world, nor ever had btvn, vnhout religion. Twice in tho world's li;.~ tory so far ac wo knew, art and ielijion had been in closn nannony and combination; once, long ago, in Uμ coWen ago of Greece, when wen W {jeved, and when tueir art in every direction interpreted tho things they of God; and again duruig Uio l;5;li century of tho Christian age, a time trlien there was a rum and wonderful of tho great painters, and tne Jay when onoo more, tor a little wmle, religion dwelt in the hoai'ts o f men, and art was a religioue art, and interpreted the thouglits that men had of God. A little later religion killed art, becnufte religion was going forward and entering on to un- " geen places, and there was striro and confusion for a time. But tho time tamo when, in tho last century religion grew again in England, and there was a new and spiritual lifo in tho lend, and with it thero woko up also the expression of it, tho religious arUstie powers in music and in painting, and of the great revival the picture that bo jneny saw last week was one cf tho ooblast results. Art was not religious art because it dealt with a religious »obj«ct. It might bo a thoroughly religious art if it wns dealing with laudeo&pe or anything which God had made. In concliib'ion, his Lordship fuid th/it it was good for us in this country to have bad euch a picture among us. It would be well for us to have more of them, . for there was a poor chance of religious art among ua with our unspiritual lift , , our quest of wealth, «nd with our hand to mouth roligion, our religion that wanted to aooommodiate itself to local tircumetances. He yearned for a riroe when there would be sometliing better than eickly sentiment or formal orthodoxy in the name of roligion, when there should be a religion that men would love and rejoice in and cling to. "There is a little hope for us," he added, "for it is something that men from a country like this can gt> and look upon that pictnre, and ponder over it. It shows not only that there is a ministry of inspiration in the man that painted it, but that there is a touch of the same inspiration in the men who took upon it, and are able to discern something in it." Preaching at Avonside in the evening, the Bishop described the picture <as tho greatest proacher that had ever been seen in.Chriatchurch, and he urged that its preaching might not bo in vain.

THE REV. H. L. SNOW. Beferenco to tho picture was also made by the Rev. H. L. Snow, at St. Michael's Church, yesterday evening. Mr Snow, •w!h,o | preached from tho text, "I am tho light of the world," said that he was particularly struck by tho enormous number of people who went to e» the painting, which showed what a strong ihold the Christ idea hud c«i the publ.c mind. He thought the picture would especially jipp?aJ to the congrqgation, they bring Church people, for it was the spiritual mind which a'Lono could'take in its true meaning, and could ccc in it somethbig more than tho beauty of outline and the beauty of colouring. The picture could oady bo rightiy appreciated by those who had 'themsalvee felt , in. life the necefis-ity for i light and a lauteru for their feet. The preacher them went into the question as to whether the paintor luid been by his own .genius entirely, or wheihef ho had built upon the accumulated evidence of the ages. It wouJd not appear, lie explained, that Hoi man Hunt had been greatly indebted to Grwk tradition for his painting, for the

Greek conception w;te that the Divino features were not beautiful. In tlio Weetena Church, on tho other hand, «;voral of the saints held an entirely opposite opinion, ami were influenced, no doubt, by a letter which purported to have boon written I)} , Lentulus, pro-Consul of Jndien; before Herod, ana which described Christ in tho following terms:—"Ho is tall of stature, and his a*.-pcct is sweet ajid full of power, eg that they who look upon him may at once love and fear Ilnn. The hair of hia head is of tho colour oi ■ tfino. As far as tho enrs it is straight; - from tho ears to tho shoulders it is

curled and glossy, and from the siioul(Wrs it deeoonds over tho hack, divided into two parts after the manner of the Xaiareae. Hia brojv is pure arid oven, his oountenan.ee without a spot, but adorned with a gentle glow; His expression blond and open, His 110*0 and mouth are of perfect beauty, Hik beard is copious, and of the oolour of his hair, His {yes are blue and very bright ; in reproving and threatening He is terrible; in teaching and exhorting gentle and loving. The grace and majesty of His appearance are marvellous, no one had ever seen Him laugh, but rathnr weep; His hands well formed and straight, Hie arms of passing beouty, weighty and grave in speech, but is sparing of words; He is the mort beautiful of the sons of men." That de.scriptton really represented the idealisation of tho character of Christ drawn from the New Testament narrative, Mid was apparently followed by Hoi man Hunt. No real portrait of Christ could oe said to have ever existed, but the patnters had painted Him tJirough Hia deeds.

!i ■ THE RET. W. *t Th© East belt Wcslc.van Church was I? jrowded lflet niglit, wlicn tho Uov. W. ■ <k*liver«l a sormon on tho text. i Behold I stand fit tho door mid j knock." In the course of hie ifmsirks I'; •» eaid that tho city had been stirretl ;i -«M excited at the arrival of Uohnan j( Hnnt'e picture in « nwinner that wis |; quite new, for hitherto the |«-ople hn<l ||' : "Wn moved only by the advent of mhiio a: prominent personage. Mnny in yicw|f rag the picture had bowi <irsjippointed 11 : n xt at but gr«Mt pictuns, *[.■:•«*• great characters, needetl lons mtil || careful study. Tho proachor referred Mβ to the hktory of tho artist. «nd parti||...cukrly to his spiritual At lifetime Holinan Hunt, could not bring: P'tamself to lielieve in the immortality of I E«oe sou], but eventually, by f'/the life of Christ, he wiis led to bol'i<nv ?■■ f«L- u^ure M°> atK l tJio picuin , was I ftno outcome of his spiritual Ptrugdee i|. and aspirations. The community," ho j|r sCOßtinued. should bo very grateful to Mr $:;.-WJarks Booth for soTuiiui: such an : |5 .«Heetivo Gospt;l ahrond. and it if-f *ould be a pood if • very uealtliy |c -nan would do Hie *amo. Mr n : . pj :«rred to the criticisms of tho pictun , made by Carlylo and llu-kin. and »Uo I', ?? People locidly, and stated that even S?*""» who profoNStd to see but little ||rOeeuty in it, were vet my-teriou-Iy inby it. \Vhat impressetl" Jiim ¥P , a f ter a study of tho picture, was i that God was very near to us. ;*&■:'.£ *■ ,

c amons '"Eldorado" ]>otatoc«. p.-'tnmj years aq;o brhiKins; £1100 for 1 lib |ij i"vught. are now procurable ;it os Gtl ll> or 21b 10ti tid, from Nininio and &v*»l*ur, Dunediii. 6