RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23577, 13 August 1938, Page 23

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

By Amplius "Most people remember better what they have seen than what they have only heard, and best of all what. they have both seen and- heard." THE USE OF PICTURES " Is Christ here? How much to see Christ?" gruffly demanded the sailor of the attendant in charge of Mynkacsy's "Christ Before Pilate.' On being told the fee, he grumbled at the price, grudgingly paid it, and swaggered into the room, hat on head, and sat down before this great and wonderful picture. Presently he took off his hat, picked up the descriptive booklet from the floor where he had contemptuously thrown it, and again looked at the picture, dropping his face into his hands at intervals, as varying emotions surged through his heart. For over an hour ne remained. Then rising to his feet, with tearstained face, and suppressed sobs in his voice, he said to the attendant, "Madam, I came here to see Christ because my mother asked me to. I'm a rough man, sailing on the lakes, and before I went on this cruise my mother wanted me to see this picture, and .1 came to please her. I never believed in the story of Christ, and His death for others, but the man who could paint a picture like that—he must have believed it. There is something in it that makes me believe in it too." Differing only in detail, stories such as this could be multiplied, testifying to the value and influence of good pictures on a life. HOW TO STUDY A PICTURE Before using a picture in a class or a department, the teacher must spend time in its study, the following showing the necessary, steps:— 1. Read up all you can find out about the artist, and especially the picture to be used, for often some special circumstances called it forth, as for example, Millet's "Angelus." 2. Find the facts in the picture. This moans a minute and prolonged study of everything in it, until, with the eyes shut, you can re-create at will each detail and fit it into its 3. Find the meaning of the facts. Note the grouping, figures, lines, light and shade, and determine which figure or group of figures the artist regarded as the most important as visualising his ideal or message. 4 Consider the facts, trying to find the meaning of the whole, its message and spiritual value. Sometimes this will not be grasped at once, many of the greatest religious pictures requiring much study before the truth the artist wants us to see dawns on the soul. When using pictures be sure that they are suited to the particular age groups. While it is true that some pictures can be used with all grades, still, care must be taken that these are within the pupil's experience and understanding. The use to which the picture is to be put deserves careful consideration. Is it for imparting correct information, for illustration, or to hang on

the department walls, exerting a silent yet powerful influence on all who behold it? PICTURES AND OLDER CHILDREN Having very briefly discussed some important points in the use of Pictures generally, let us now consider them in relation to the boys and girls of our junior and intermediate departments. The junior age is characterised by a great demand for reality. Infancy, with its world of " make believe has been left behind, and the junior boy now clamours for facts—for real true stories. The world has become a real world, peopled with men and women, boys and girls,'living in real places near and far. There are real adventuies to be faced, real fights to be won, and the hero of every story heard li the boy himself. These, too, are the habit-forming years, with the need for training in right thinking and risht living. The principal ways of using pictures in the junior and intermediate department! ire as follows : -For illustration and showing the actual .places where certain incidents and stories took place. For teaching facts, giving accurate information about. the country people customs, and their everyday life. For illustrating stories, hymns, and for inculcating right ideals and proper standards for living and conduct. But by far their greatest use is as an aid to worship, helping the young life to truly worship, and tp bring his whole being into living vital relationship with Jesus Christ, loving and serving Him in daily life. ILLUSTRATIONS For class use. the best realistic and descriptive pictures should be used; those of James Tissot and Holman Hunt, with their intense realism, accurate Palestinian backgrounds, correct types of people, and their costumes, satisfying the hunger for reality which is so dominant at this time. Photographs are also extremely helpful but these should not be merel> " looked at," but studied, and quite a valuable activity for the children, either in a class or the department as a whole, could be the making of a picture journey; illustrating the parables, or depicting incidents in the life oi Christ. . .... . Christian workers are indebted to the late Harold Copping for his work in making available such a vast number of biblical pictures, but it must be borne in mind that these are illustrations only, giving no more than the story in picture form and should be used only as such. (To be continued.) INTERPRETING A PICTURE A picture to one who does not understand it will hardly mean more than a printed page to one who cannot read. There is an alphabet of art in the symbols, emblems, and attributes which are to be seen in great paintings. There accessories are didactic as well as decorative. There is a rhetoric in art expressed in composition and colour which teaches the mind as well as pleases the eye. Just as the history of literature and the biographies of authors aid in the appreciation and understanding of literature, so a knowledge of the times and personalities that created works of art is helpful in getting the most from pictures. Art is a serious branch of human culture, and there is no easy or short way for the mastery of a great subject. If one would teach he must learn and spend days and nights with the histories and biographies which bring to the mind

the personal elements involved, for these may be of more value to the teacher of religion than an acquaintance with technical matters. In the study and teaching of a picture the first essential is to see it. One must look steadily, patiently, with the eager expectation of discovery. He must bring to the picture an imagination that will enable him to see what no one else has seen, and then beyond that there must be the spirit that underlies all perception of truth, a devotion that will follow any trutn that comes to him. These questions are fundamental: What is there in: the picture? What did the artist do? Whai did he mean? What has it meant foi mankind? What does it mean to me.' What should I do about it? Every worthy picture from the devoted soul of an artist is only a canvas—famous costly, curious—unless it urges the one who beholds it to a consecration to goodness and beauty. One can never know, a great painting except by the transference of the life of the artist, and the divine subject, to his own life, . , , The purpose of teaching through the use of great paintings should never be overlooked. We are to behold the beauty of Jesus in order to be like Him. We are to think Christ's thoughts after Him. and incarnate His life in our lives. "We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory."—Richard Shipley.