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Through a Glass, Darkly
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Quash, Ben |
| Copyright Year | 2015 |
| Abstract | Years ago, the BBC created a video, “The Many Images of Christ.” It included one image of the crucifixion that depicted Jesus covered with sores from St. Anthony’s Fire, a disease that was a great scourge in medieval times. Known as the “Isenheim Altarpiece,” it is a triptych considered to be the German 16th-century painter Matthias Grünewald’s greatest work. It was commissioned by the Hospital Brothers of St. Anthony, an order founded for the purpose of caring for those suffering from St. Anthony’s Fire and the plague. The first step in the treatment of those coming to that German hospital was the prayerful contemplation of Grünewald’s painting, an invitation to see their own suffering mirrored in Christ’s suffering. That particular image of Christ invited the grievously ill person viewing it to enter into, to imagine the experience of Christ, who suffered and who also heals. Although it was created 500 years ago, the Isenheim Altarpiece can be seen as illustrating the essence of a Trinity Health project on healing design. Both explore the vital relationship between healing and the healing environment to foster healing spaces in health care settings. A very contemporary example occurred in the spring of 2018, when the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City mounted the exhibition, “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.” It drew the largest attendance of any exhibition there, ever.1 The exhibit opened with a quotation from the late Fr. Andrew Greeley, a noted sociologist and author, about the religious imagination: “Catholics live in an enchanted world: a world of statues and holy water, stained glass and votive candles, saints and religious medals, rosary beads and holy pictures. But these Catholic paraphernalia are merely hints of a deeper and more pervasive religious sensibility that inclines Catholics to see the Holy lurking in creation.” There were two main parts of the exhibition; the first displayed sumptuous vestments and other liturgical objects lent to the Met by the Vatican. Another presented evening dresses and wedding gowns, reminiscent of depictions of Mary attired as Queen of Heaven, as well as other fashion inspired by more everyday ecclesiastical garb (such as soutanes, the garments worn by priests, and religious habits). The work of many prestigious fashion designers was represented. One reviewer said, “For the 55 designers exhibited here, Catholicism is both a public spectacle and a private conviction, in which beauty has the force he use of design to create healing environments draws upon many aspects of human creativity. One source is religious imagination, which is the capacity to envision the transcendent when perceiving a specific, concrete and earthly reality. Two examples — one from the Middle Ages that reflects traditional themes and one recent example focused on the contemporary world — allow for an entry point for the exploration of the relationship between healing and the religious imagination. Healing and the Religious Imagination |
| Starting Page | 29 |
| Ending Page | 42 |
| Page Count | 14 |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| DOI | 10.1126/science.307.5711.811c |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://www.chausa.org/docs/default-source/health-progress/through-a-glass-darkly-healing-and-the-religious-imagination.pdf?sfvrsn=0 |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://doi.org/10.1126/science.307.5711.811c |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
