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Context and Experiencing the Sacred
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 October 2016
Abstract
This essay considers how far the original sacred context of a painting or other artefact should be acknowledged in modern galleries and museums. It is argued that such institutions should be concerned with rather more than the fostering of aesthetic experience. An educational role is also important, and this entails that, although nothing should be done to encourage religion, contextualizing painting and artefact will also open up the possibility for concomitant religious experience. Although various formal distinctions are noted, the argument is conducted by means of a large number of specific examples.
- Type
- Papers
- Information
- Royal Institute of Philosophy Supplements , Volume 79: Philosophy and Museums: Essays in the Philosophy of Museums , October 2016 , pp. 117 - 132
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Royal Institute of Philosophy and the contributors 2016
References
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11 The quality of the textured surface could be taken to signify the richness of divine creation, the call to transcendence as no more than a vague call to otherness.
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20 For Constable, www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2960. The point about Cèzanne is better perceived by considering the group as a whole.
22 Since it was not long after the war, similar reasons could have been at play as with the London Titian discussed earlier, for despite being a crucifixion it carried an optimistic message. My childhood ‘memory’ of its location may not be quite accurate, as others recall encounters at the end of a long corridor, with that alternative form of distance, though, still providing a sense of mystery.
24 The acquisition was controversial because Ofili was a Tate Trustee at the time. The layout as a whole was designed by the architect, David Adjaye.
25 Chris Ofili, (Illuminations, DVD, 2002).
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28 Stemming from the 8th century, it is also known as the Monymusk Reliquary and the Brecbennoch.
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36 Director of the National Gallery in London (1987–2002) and from 2002 Director of the British Museum.