A Couple Noteworthy Art Pieces

Sometimes, its really rewarding being a Christian in my Art History classes. I get a lot out of many pieces because so much art was created with the intention to inspire its viewers to meditate on God and learn something about His character through their work. Here are some examples.

"The Gleaners" by Jean-Francois Millet, 1857


These women are gleaners. What they are gathering now, leftover grain from a harvest, is literally all that they will have to feed their families with. They are the poorest of the poor in French society. Notice the high horizon line, and how even though these women are at the forefront of the painting, none of them cross the horizon line because they are so "low." You cannot see their faces because to Parisian elites, the main audience of this painting, these people do not matter - much like how most North Americans don't care that much of their wardrobe was made in a sweatshop in China.

Though these people "do not matter," Millet is respecting them by painting them with expensive paint and presenting them to the public at one of the Louvre's salons, basically an annual sophisticated art show in Paris.

He is sending the message that these women are important to France, because their clothes together form the French flag.

Lastly, he paints them as heroic, strong women because with this painting, he reminds the audience of Ruth, from the Bible, who was also a gleaner - and a strong, heroic woman. By associating these women with her, he is by extension saying that these women are strong and heroic as well.

And I pretty much love it! It reminds me that Jesus loves these women SO MUCH, and that it is my job as His follower to love them as well. It reminds me that even though this was 150 years ago, the same thing is still happening today, in our post-colonial era, where the rich are off in their own world yet there are millions of people in the world living in absolute poverty, and this situation STILL must be redeemed.

Another favourite:
"Mary Magdelene" by Donatello, 1450s


This guy on youtube does a great job explaining this sculpture so I'll just let him do it. Its all dramatic and he has a good voice for explaining such things.

I love it because she looks like my heart has felt. The instant I saw it, even without having studying it, I thought, *I've been there too*. It reminds me that God accepts us where we are at, despite the disgusting states of our hearts.