A new book features some of the Christian architecture regarded
as the best in the world, introduced by Heather Thornton
McRae
Vision: Las Lajas, in the extreme south-west region of Nariño,
in Colombia, was a remote, uninhabited gorge carved by the Guáitara
River until 1754, when Rosa Mueces, a deaf mute girl, taking refuge
with her mother from a sudden storm, cried out on seeing an image
of the Virgin. News of the apparition spread, and pilgrims from
Colombia and neighbouring Ecuador began making the arduous journey.
A simple wooden chapel was replaced with successively grander
buildings, ending in this, designed by J. Gualberto Pérez, and
built between 1916 and 1949, funded entirely by donations. The
veracity of the vision was attested by Pope Pius XII in 1954
Vision: Las Lajas, in the extreme south-west region of Nariño,
in Colombia, was a remote, uninhabited gorge carved by the Guáitara
River until 1754,...
TWO thousand years of Christianity have inspired some of the
most important works of art and architecture known to humankind.
They span not just time, but also the world.
Almost all religious traditions need a place to worship, but
Christianity also requires a space for contemplation. This defining
aspect of the religion created a vibrant monastic tradition.
Monasteries include churches, but their underlying principle is
different, because they provide for every aspect of life, allowing
monks to be apart from the world.
Christian spaces of worship and contemplation were often
embellished with multiple art forms. In the earliest centuries,
these tended to be part of the buildings themselves. Later, more
portable forms of religious art appeared, including paintings and
free-standing sculpture.
Nuanced differences between Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox,
Coptic, Protestant, and other forms of Christianity shine in the
simplest and humblest Christian architectural and artistic
forms.
An edited extract from Making Sense of Christian Art
and Architecture (Thames & Hudson, £9.95 (CT Bookshop,
£8.95)
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