Search

The spread of Christianity to China initiated a process of indigenization, particularly evident in Christian art. This study explores the indigenization of early 20th-century Chinese Christian paintings through literature reviews, case studies, and comparative research. The analysis covers four forms of primary research. First, it explores the indigenization of Christian concepts, tracing their development from the introduction of Nestorian Christianity in the Tang dynasty through the establishment of Fu Jen Catholic University in the Republican era. Matteo Ricci's implementation of the "Ricci Rule" during the late Ming dynasty, subsequently expanded by Celso Costantini, played a crucial role in the indigenous adaptation of Christian painting in China. The second facet focuses on the Beijing Catholic School of Painting, led by Chen Yuandu, a group that innovated Chinese Christian art by integrating local artistic expressions with traditional depictions of saints, assimilating symbols from Chinese literati painting, and preserving time-honored Chinese painting techniques. The third facet examines the strategy behind Christian painting methods. Fourth, this study discusses how the Fu Jen School faced varied reception and evaluations from domestic and international audiences under the complex social currents of the Republic of China and how the artists reflected the national spirit and artistic responsibility in their narrative paintings. Fundamentally, the practice of Christian painting at the early 20th-century Catholic School is not only an innovative artistic endeavor but also a significant case of cultural exchange between East and West and religious localization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spread of Christianity to China initiated a process of indigenization, particularly evident in Christian art. This study explores the indigenization of early 20th-century Chinese Christian paintings through literature reviews, case studies, and comparative research. The analysis covers four forms of primary research. First, it explores the indigenization of Christian concepts, tracing their development from the introduction of Nestorian Christianity in the Tang dynasty through the establishment of Fu Jen Catholic University in the Republican era. Matteo Ricci’s implementation of the “Ricci Rule” during the late Ming dynasty, subsequently expanded by Celso Costantini, played a crucial role in the indigenous adaptation of Christian painting in China. The second facet focuses on the Beijing Catholic School of Painting, led by Chen Yuandu, a group that innovated Chinese Christian art by integrating local artistic expressions with traditional depictions of saints, assimilating symbols from Chinese literati painting, and preserving time-honored Chinese painting techniques. The third facet examines the strategy behind Christian painting methods. Fourth, this study discusses how the Fu Jen School faced varied reception and evaluations from domestic and international audiences under the complex social currents of the Republic of China and how the artists reflected the national spirit and artistic responsibility in their narrative paintings. Fundamentally, the practice of Christian painting at the early 20th-century Catholic School is not only an innovative artistic endeavor but also a significant case of cultural exchange between East and West and religious localization.

Copyright of Journal of Research in Humanities is the property of Tarbiat Modares University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article is a review of the research literature on iconography of ancient philosophers in the Christian tradition. The author presents the main statements from several key studies on this topic: books by V. P. Zubov, I. S. Duychev, M. N. Gromov, articles by N. A. Kazakova, V. N. Sergeev. The last two research are devoted to the history of the “Prophecies of the Hellenic wise men”– the text which gives a clue to the images of the ancient philosophers in Russian churches of the 16th century. Based on these and other sources, the author comes to the conclusion that the images of ancient sages, which became a fairly common subject for Church painting in the 16th – 18th centuries, played a major role in the justification and approval of Christian dogmas: ancient thinkers often defend the key thesis about the incarnation of God. In addition, the visual code of Eastern Christian culture, along with texts from the same period, demonstrates the dynamics of relations with the Western tradition. With the fall of the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Christianity re-established its relationship with Western Christianity. The interest in the figures of antiquity is in this process a converging fact, but this is where the convergence ends. It is caused by the perception of texts of a completely different culture after several centuries. Interest in antiquity is expressed in respect for names, but the images of philosophers are a purely Christian “product”. Reflecting on the current increase of interest in this topic, the author comes to the conclusion that modern research on this topic reveals a new approach to the development of religious heritage. The author connects it with the position of post-secularism and reinterpretation of the phenomenon of “religious” in culture. In contrast to the secularist position, the current vision of the “religious” allows to explore iconography not only as an object of worship or art, but as an important part of a complex cultural system. As a result, the religious ceases to be something fundamentally different in relation to modern culture. This gives a new perspective both for the study of current phenomena and topics, and for the study of religious manifestations of the past. Статья представляет собой обзор научной литературы по иконографии античных философов в христианской традиции. Автор приводит основные позиции из нескольких ключевых исследований темы: книг В. П. Зубова «Аристотель», И. С. Дуйчева «Древноезически мислители…», М. Н. Громова «Образы философов в Древней Руси», статей Н. А. Казаковой и В. Н. Сергеева, касающихся истории «Пророчеств еллинских мудрецов». Опираясь на эти и другие источники, автор приходит к выводу, что изображения античных мудрецов, ставшие довольно распространённым сюжетом для церковной живописи XVI–XVIII вв., играли большую роль в обосновании и утверждении христианских догм: устами античных мыслителей часто защищается ключевой тезис о Боговоплощении. Кроме того, визуальный код восточно-христианской культуры наравне с текстами того же периода демонстрирует динамику отношений с западной традицией. В условиях падения Византийской империи восточное христианство заново выстраивало свои взаимоотношения с западным. Интерес к фигурам античности является в этом процессе сближающим фактом, но на этом сближение заканчивается. Использование авторитета «первых философов» в своих целях создаёт новых «персонажей» – христианских Платона, Аристотеля, Сивилл и даже Аполлона. Это вполне нормальная ситуация, поскольку речь идёт о перцепции текстов совершенно иной культуры после нескольких веков выстраивания собственной. Интерес к античности выражен в уважении к именам, но сами изображения и образы философов – это «продукт» сугубо христианский. Размышляя над актуальным повышением интереса к этой теме, автор приходит к выводу, что современные исследования подобных тем проявляют новый подход к освоению религиозного наследия. Автор связывает его с позицией постсекуляризма и переосмысления феномена «религиозного» в культуре. В отличие от позиции секуляризма, актуальное видение «религиозного» позволяет исследовать иконопись не только как предмет культа или искусства, но как полноправную часть сложной культурной системы. В результате религиозное престаёт быть чем-то принципиально инаковым по отношению к современной культуре. Это даёт новую перспективу как для изучения актуальных явлений и тем, так и для исследований религиозных проявлений прошлого.

Abstract: The epileptic seizure is in many cultures associated with death. Indo-European tradition perceives death not necessarily as the end but as a step, as a point the life cycle is passing through. The epileptic seizure may be seen as a transient form of death, which offers some symmetry with the biblical story of the death and resurrection of Christ. This article, originating from a case report, shows how some Christian painting alludes to renaissance after a seizure and to the parallelism between the patient with epilepsy and the destiny of Christ. Special attention is paid to Raphael’s, in this respect particularly complex work, The Transfiguration. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]