Originally published in 1983, Leo Steinberg's classic work has changed the viewing habits of a generation. After centuries of repression and censorship, the sexual component in thousands of revered icons of Christ is restored to visibility. Steinberg's evidence resides in the imagery of the overtly sexed Christ, in Infancy and again after death. Steinberg argues that the artists regarded the deliberate exposure of Christ's genitalia as an affirmation of kinship with the human condition. Christ's lifelong virginity, understood as potency under check, and the first offer of blood in the circumcision, both required acknowledgment of the genital organ. More than exercises in realism, these unabashed images underscore the crucial theological import of the Incarnation. This revised and greatly expanded edition not only adduces new visual evidence, but deepens the theological argument and engages the controversy aroused by the book's first publication.

This striking collection -- presented in full colour -- includes some of the best contemporary Christian art from around the world and offers a moving journey through the life of Jesus. Christian art is a vibrant, inspiring and, above all, living tradition. The collection presented in this beautifully produced book testifies to the mission and talent of numerous artists worldwide. More than a 100 outstanding paintings and sculptures illuminate episodes in the story of Jesus. Short reflections accompany the images, adding to their relevance, enhancing their beauty and strengthening their power.

How do you paint a figure who is fully human and fully divine? How do you paint Christ? Strangeness and Recognition takes a fresh look at well-known Renaissance paintings of Christ and shows how surprising and deeply 'strange' they can be. This book brings an imaginative and affective theological perspective to the viewing experience as it explores the twin roles played by 'strangeness' and 'recognition' in responding to the challenge of creating and relating to images of Christ. By confounding expectations and defamiliarising subject matter, the ambiguity and mystery of these paintings disturbs viewers' expectations and reconnects them with the extraordinary mystery of the Incarnation. While neither words nor images can fully describe God, through a questioning, challenging dialogue with paintings, whose visual language disrupts itself, viewers can be brought to the limits of their own understanding and can enter into transformative and personlike relationships with paintings. These personal exchanges lead through estrangement to the rediscovery of the familiar within the strange and the renewed within the familiar, and to the ultimately unspeakable, unpaintable, mystery of the Incarnation. Drawing on a diverse range of theologians, philosophers, art historians and art theorists, and building on her own earlier work, Chloe Reddaway shows the theological potential of Christian images, even when they are far removed from their original contexts. A major contribution to the emerging field of visual theology, this book will appeal to scholars of theology and art history alike, as well as to the museum-going public.

This book contains over 80 paintings of Jesus Christ for the purposes of enjoying and meditating. Painting has always been associated with the life of the Church. From the time of the Catacombs it has been used in ecclesiastical ornamentation, and for centuries after Constantine, religious art was the only form of living art in the Christian world. Its fecundity has been wonderful and even now, although much diminished, is still important. Until the Renaissance, the Church exercised a veritable monopoly over this sphere. Profane painting in Europe dates only from the last five centuries and it took the lead only in the nineteenth century. It may, therefore, be said that throughout the Christian Era the history of painting has been that of religious painting.

The Image of Christ in Modern Art explores the challenges, presented by the radical and rapid changes of artistic style in the 20th century, to artists who wished to relate to traditional Christian imagery. In this highly illustrated book, Richard Harries

PURSUING CHRIST. CREATING ART. is written for people who are living in the intersection of the Christian faith, and the creation of art. By their nature, artists look at a life of faith differently, and that unique journey warrants an exploration of what it means to be a Christ-follower and an artist. The book intentionally veers away from tips and techniques and formulas, while concentrating on the journey, the mystery, and the heart.

In this text, Neil MacGregor engages with images of Christ wherever they may be found throughout the world. Through them he follows not only the life of Christ, but also the development of Christian culture since His birth.

Since the dawn of Christianity, artists have been fascinated and stirred by the figure of Christ. His likeness appears in frescoes on the walls of catacombs that date from Roman times; he is featured in the stained glass windows of Gothic churches; and he can be found in various forms in today’s pop culture. The Biblical Saviour is not a static, immaterial deity: Christ’s mortal birth, unusual life and dramatic death make him an accessible subject for religious and secular artists alike.Whether they show the spirituality of God Incarnate or the earthly characteristics of a flesh-and-blood man, artistic depictions of Christ are the most controversial, moving or inspirational examples of religious art. This richly illustrated book explores the various ways that Christ is rendered in art, from Cimabue’s Nativity scenes and Fra Angelico’s paintings of the Crucifixion to the provocative portraits of Salvador Dalí and Andres Serrano. Author Joseph Lewis French guides the reader through the most iconic representations of Christ in art - tender or graphic, classical or bizarre, these images of the Messiah reveal the diverse roles of the Son of God in the social milieus and personal lives of the artists.

Jesus is one of the most commonly portrayed figures of all time in the artistic community. But what can all of his varying faces—coming from so many different ages and diverse countries around the world—tell us about him as a person? In this beautiful book, images of Jesus are used to explore his life and legacy, including Jesus as shepherd, Jesus as victor, Jesus as broken, and many more. With illuminating text and arresting images, this book is visually stunning and textually inspiring—the perfect gift for anyone with an interest in fine art, spirituality, or both.

Includes brief yet comprehensive biographies of the artists featured, such as Kazimir Malevich, David Buliuk, Grigory Gagarin, Pavel Filonov and Alexei Yegorov Despite its later acceptance of Christianity in 988, and the many decades of religious repression under the Communist Regime, Russian artists have over the centuries produced images of Christ renowned for their spiritual clarity and beauty. Gorgeously and abundantly illustrated, this book presents paintings, iconography and liturgical objects as well as biographies of the artists and informative essays that trace Christian art and culture in Russia over the past six hundred years.