History as a Window

An artwork can be a window to a community or society of the past. In today’s world, some people have a tendency to dismiss Christian history as being all negative (e.g.,the Crusades & the Inquisition), but Christian history is far more complex. No one artwork can provide a complete lens on a time or a place in Christian history, but artworks can open the doors.

The Website mostly uses the BC/AD dating convention because most Christians in are familiar with it. BC stands for Before Christ; AD stands for Anno Domine, which is Latin for Year of the Lord, and is the period we are in now. In many spheres today, the conventions B.C.E. and C.E. are more common.  B.C.E. stands for Before the Common Era; C.E. stands for Common Era, which is what we are in now. The numbering is the same in both systems so if a caption in a book or museum identifies an artwork as having been created in 1435 CE, that is the same as it having been made in 1435 AD. 

Exploring the historical world behind an artwork can be especially significant if you find an artwork that you feel you belong in, that feels more like home to you than your own time & place.

No single approach works for everyone. Tap into what you already know, and experiment with some of these approaches. Let your curiosity be your guide. The list of questions below offers just a few suggestions to get you started. Some of them are impossible to answer for some artworks but have fun thinking about them.

Who?

• Who is depicted? (e.g., rich/poor, leader/average person)
• Who was expected to see the work regularly? (e.g., private owner, churchgoers)
• Who paid for the artwork? (i.e., Was the work commissioned by someone who asked for a specific theme, or did the artist come up with the idea and then sell it on the open market?)

What?

• What was the artwork used for (e.g., to focus one’s prayer, to inspire rebellion, to control the people, to guide good behavior, to inspire donations)?
• What were the characteristics of the church (see the Pendulum Swings throughout Christian History section)?

When?

• What was going on in the era in which the artwork was made—politically, economically, socially, in the church?
• What wars were being fought? Who were the bad guys in those days? Did they have a distinctive look?
• How is time used in the artwork (i.e., earthly time, one moment in time, multiple moments from one story, multiple stories from different times)?

Where?

• What are the characteristics of the place where the artwork was made?
• How was the place governed back in the day?
• Which kind of Christianity did the people of this place practice?

Why?

• Why did the artist choose this topic or theme? (Was there a controversy that this theme answered? Was this a way of exerting control over someone?)

How?

• How did people think back in the day (e.g., symbolically, about things here & now, experientially, scientifically, historically)?
• How was this made (e.g., materials, style, etc.)?

Life, Death, Salvation?

• What were the current events of the time surrounding life & death (e.g., the Black Death killed about a third of Europeans from 1346 to 1350; Columbus discovered a ‘new world’ in 1492 with lots of people that Europeans hadn’t known existed; the United States wiped out two substantial cities with two nuclear weapons in 1945; an earthquake & tsunami in Indonesia in 2004 killed a quarter of a million people)?
• How was salvation taught (e.g., faith alone, faith & good works, good works most important)?