The artwork that you hang about your house is so important. I read once a story of a family, all of whose sons eventually went to sea—whether as sailors or as ship-builders. A family friend asked one of them, “Why is it that you all love the sea so much? What made it so attractive?” The young man smiled as he answered. “All about our house, for as long as I can remember, were hung paintings of the sea and of ships.” As they grew from babyhood to manhood, these boys saw everyday images that thrilled their imagination and shaped their dreams.
The home should be filled with such paintings as these: paintings that celebrate noble pursuits, honor the home and family, encourage a love for the beauties of God’s creation. They should be paintings which uplift the spirit and arouse worthy thoughts. They should be beautiful paintings, rich in skill and detail and coloring: the sort of thing that a child would delight to study, that seems to reveal something new each time one looks.
“Art, like morality, consists of drawing the line somewhere,” said G. K. Chesterton. If you read my article Musical Notes, then you are already familiar with the lingo.
“All great art,” wrote art critic John Ruskin, “is the expression of man’s delight in God’s work, not his own.” The Biblical artist seeks to glorify God and, with the Scriptures as his guideline, produces work that is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy. (Philippians 4:8) The humanistic artist, however, is focussed rather on himself and the expression of his own mind—a confused and fallen mind, at that, and separated from the revelation of God. From artists such as he we get modern** and abstract art with its revelry in insanity, fragmentation, depression, and anger. We cannot separate personal philosophy from the product. “Every artist dips his brush in his own soul and paints his own nature into his pictures.” (Henry Ward Beecher, Proverbs from Plymouth, 1887) I again quote Thomas Carlyle: “The fine arts once divorcing themselves from truth are quite certain to fall mad, if they do not die.”
Now, I have witnessed people go to great and painful lengths to justify certain “great and famous” examples of this pagan art by trying to find noble meaning in its meaninglessness. Yet why should we wade in the mire in search of perhaps a single precious gem buried beneath, when we can wander, awestruck, through halls overflowing with wealth and beauty? Harold Rosenberg tells us that “One of the grotesqueries of present-day American life is the amount of reasoning that goes into displaying the wisdom secreted in bad movies while proving that modern art is meaningless. They have put into practice the notion that bad artwork cleverly interpreted according to some obscure method is more rewarding than a masterpiece wrapped in silence.”
** Now, I say “modern” art with some reservations. I am not saying that any art painted after, say, the nineteenth century, is intrinsically bad. You probably knew that! :) Unfortunately, today’s Christians have failed to take the role of leadership in modern culture, and art has largely been abandoned to the pagans. There are, however, examples of modern artists who seek to return art to the Christian jurisdiction. Robert Duncan is an example of such an artist.
Perhaps you despair of finding true artwork for your home walls. Believe me, the wealth of beauty is overwhelming! My personal computer collection of paintings amounts to several thousands. (I only regret that I cannot print them all out on sturdy card-stock paper for comfortable browsing pleasure. Maybe someday when I’m rich! ;) Throughout my website I have shared many of these. At the bottom of each page I have recorded the title and artist when I know them. I did this for you, because I want you to know and love the paintings as I do.
Some artists you may wish to explore are Julien Dupre, Johannes Vermeer, Louis Aston Knight, Jean-François Millet, Mary Cassat, Albert Anker, Montague Dawson, Emile Munier, Sir Lawrence Alma Tadema, Lord Frederick Leighton, William Bouguereau (you have to turn a blind eye to some of the paintings of these last three classicists, but most are quite lovely), and Robert Duncan. That should keep you busy for a long while!
Perhaps you worry about the cost. It is true that the cost for the originals of even obscure artists can be quite formidable. Fortunately, technology seems to do us a good turn this time around. Many art companies offer inexpensive and high-quality prints from all the great masters. Look around and see what you can find.
Title Painting: Dawn Chase. Mantague Dawson.