Seeing God in Art: The Christian Faith in 30 Masterpieces

Richard Harries (Author) Richard Harries is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and an Honorary Professor of Theology at King’s College, London. On his retirement as Bishop of Oxford (1987-2006) he was made a life peer (Lord Harries of Pentregarth). He is the author of many critically acclaimed books, including Hearing God in Poetry (SPCK, 2021), Seeing God in Art (SPCK, 2022) and his moving autobiography The Shaping of a Soul: a life taken by surprise (John Hunt 2023). Art and the Beauty of God (Continuum, 1993) was selected as book of the year by Anthony Burgess in The Observer. A much loved voice on BBC’s Today programme, he has contributed to ‘Thought for the Day’ for more than 50 years.

Contents
Introduction 1
Part 1
IN TIME
1 'Let there be . . .'7
The creation of the sun, moon and stars,
twelfth-century mosaic
2 Animals come into being 11
Jacopo Tintoretto, Creation of the Animals, 1551-52
3 The image of God 15
Lucas Cranach the Elder, Adam and Eve, 1526
4 'Some natural tears they dropped' 19
Masaccio, The Expulsion from Eden, c. 1425
Part 2
IN HISTORY
5 Liberated into freedom 25
Marc Chagall, Exodus, 1952
6 The way of life required of God's people 31
Moses before the burning bush, sixth-century mosaic
7 Prophetic critique 35
Albert Herbert, Elijah Being Fed by a Raven, 1992
8 Divine wisdom 39
Holy Wisdom, sixteenth-century icon
9 Suffering 45
Roger Wagner, And the Lord Lifted Up Job's Face, 1995
10 'The Word became flesh and dwelt among us' 49
Patricia Fostiropoulos, Icon of loving kindness, 1990
11 The baptism of Christ 53
Piero della Francesca, The Baptism of Christ, c. 1450
12 The testing of Christ 57
Stanley Spencer, The Scorpion, 1939
13 The One who knows our needs 61
Rembrandt, Christ Healing and Preaching, c. 1648
14 Welcomed home 65
Hildegart Nicholas, The Prodigal, 1991
15 'From glory to glory' 69
Edith Reyntiens, Icon of the Transfiguration, c. 1986
16 The Last Supper 73
Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper, 1494-98
17 Agony 77
Helen Meyer, Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, c. 1990
18 Crucified and risen 81
Norman Adams, The Golden Crucifixion, 1993
19 Delivered from darkness 85
The Anastasis, fourteenth-century fresco
20 'He is not here, he is risen' 89
The two Marys finding the tomb of Jesus empty,
sixth-century mosaic
Part 3
IN CHRIST
21 'Do not cling to me, I have not yet ascended to the Father' 95
David Wynne, Noli me tangere, 1963
22 Questioning 99
Mosaic at Hosios Loukas, Greece, c. 1120
23 The supper at Emmaus 103
Ceri Richards, The Supper at Emmaus, 1958
24 Life turned upside down 107
Caravaggio, Conversion on the Way to Damascus, 1600-01
25 The Spirit descends to live within us 111
Nicholas Mynheer, Worcester College Chapel Choir, 2003
26 The dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary 117
Twelfth-century icon
27 Christian mindfulness 121
Tom Denny, Window in memory of Thomas Traherne,
2006-07
28 'Christ within us, our true self' 127
Solomon Raj, Etching, c. 1995
29 The Communion of Saints 131
Fra Angelico, Christ Glorified in the Court of Heaven, 1423-24
30 The hospitality of God 137
Andrei Rublev, The Trinity, c. 1425-27
Notes 139
Acknowledgements 141