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Revitalizing the Christian imagination through painting, poetry, music, and more

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SAAM Stations

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Every Tuesday I post on the blog what I call an "Artful Devotion," where I choose one of four scripture texts from the Revised Common Lectionary for the coming week and then select one visual artwork and one musical work that resonate with that scripture in some way, sometimes directly, sometimes more obliquely. I’m interested in the meaning that can open up in one’s Bible reading when art is engaged alongside that discipline. * Today’s devotional (link in bio) centers on one of my favorite Old Testament stories, and that is Jacob wrestling with God. Walter Habdank’s woodcut of the subject emphasizes the loving and blessing nature of God, who comes to Jacob veiled in darkness but who reveals himself, in some measure, at Jacob’s behest. This is one of eighty woodcuts Habdank made for the HABDANK BIBEL, an illustrated German-language Bible published in Augsburg in 1995. I encourage you to spend just a little time—say, 20 minutes (or more if you can!)—reading this Genesis passage, gazing on Habdank’s visual interpretation of it, and listening to Charles Wesley’s hymn “Come, O Thou Traveler Unknown,” rendered so beautifully by American roots singer and shape-note specialist Tim Eriksen. See where it takes you. * If you want to receive weekly Artful Devotions in your inbox or RSS feed, be sure to subscribe at ArtandTheology.org. (A button should pop up in the bottom corner of your screen, but if not, click through any of the links and see the right sidebar.)

I've seen sculptures by Apache modernist artist Allan Houser at many museums over the years, and I've loved them all. The most memorable has been of a small community of Native women gathered round each other in song. Their hair falls as their song rises, with a depth of feeling evident in their expressions. A united sisterhood, carved from a single block of marble. * Allan Houser (Chiricahua/Warm Springs Apache, 1914-1994), "Singing Maidens," 1979. Tennessee marble, 24 x 11 x 11 in. @portlandmuseum, Portland, Oregon. #indigenouspeoplesday #nativeamericanart

I get a kick out of Jesus's cute little elfish expression in this Renaissance tondo painting as he loosens his swaddling bands. His mom shows him a bird perched on her finger, but he's more interested in us, the viewers. * Attributed to Piero di Cosimo, "The Virgin and Child with Angels," ca. 1500-1510. Oil and tempera on panel, diameter 78 cm. Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza (@museothyssen), Madrid. #madonnaandchild #babyjesus #birdsinart #angels #renaissanceart #tondo

Inspired by the Angers (Apocalypse) Tapestry and the concept of illumination, Irene Barberis's monumental "Tapestry of Light" uses nanotechnology to weave light fibers as if they were thread. The nanoparticle threads glow differently under different lighting conditions, unveiling three layers of imagery, which integrate art historical references with modern-day images of war, protest, etc. * I heard Barberis discuss the project in July, and got to see it in person. It's stimulating! I especially like how one of the scenes has the angel from Botticelli's Cestello Annunciation hailing Christ at his second coming. * Irene Barberis, "The Tapestry of Light," 2017. About 118 feet long. On exhibit at the @museumofbible through January 1. #womenartists #tapestry #revelation #apocalypse #artandscience #biblicalart

A pax (Latin for "peace") is a liturgical object introduced in the 13th century as a substitute for direct kissing among congregants during the kiss of peace. Made of ivory, wood, or metal, the pax would be kissed and then passed along, kissed and passed, with the words "Pax tecum" (Peace to you) and the response "Et cum spiritu tuo" (And with your spirit). I suspect that this is where the phrase "passing of the peace" originated. * These two paxes are from the @museumcatharijneconvent in Utrecht. The Crucifixion pax on the left is from Flanders or Germany, 1500-1510, and the one on the right, depicting James the Great, is from late 15th-century France or northern Spain. #liturgicalart #ivory #crucifixion #apostle

“Mary, in a dream of love Playing as all children play, For unsuspecting children may Express in comic make-believe The wish that later they will know Is tragic and impossible; Hear, child, what I am sent to tell: Love wills your dream to happen, so Love’s will on earth may be, through you, No longer a pretend but true.” —from “For the Time Being” by W. H. Auden * Unidentified artist, probably from Alabama, "Angel," 1875-1900. Yellow pine. @highmuseumofart, Atlanta, Georgia.

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Header image: Theodore Rousseau, View of the Plain of Montmartre (detail), ca. 1848. Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid.

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