It’s nice, of course, to go into a church in Europe and gaze upon the work of one of the great masters like Michelangelo (as Lori blogged about a couple of days ago) or Bellini or Da Vinci. But it’s also nice to gaze upon the work of the lesser known artists, or even unknown artists, that grace these places of worship.
The fact that their names haven’t persisted into our modern daily vocabulary doesn’t lessen their impact, the quality of their work, or the devotion they were displaying to their faith and creator by creating these works. Not that they are unknown: most of these works are probably very well known in either the art world or by their custodians at the various churches and cathedrals. I mean that they aren’t the works that attract guidebook-toting tourists who are only in search of the works of the “famous guys”.
Where there are churches, there are likely works of art. And as we’ve pointed out, Bologna has no shortage of churches. Putting two and two together, and we saw quite a bit of art the few days we were in Bologna, a sampling of which we offer to you in this blog. Though with a few of the churches we passed deconsecrated, converted to lecture halls, or simply padlocked due to declining church attendance, we wonder what art is hidden away and no longer available for appreciation? And we pray that no more churches–and their precious works of art, anonymous or famous–suffer a similar fate.
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| A Saint and her Savior |
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| A Woman Anguishing Over the Crucified Jesus |
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| Another Piece to Add to our “Unusual Depictions of Christ” Collection: This One Showing Christ During or After the Flogging |
