Best religious themed artwork....

[liberalitch]

can be sculpture or otherwise if you vote other.....

David:
http://www.wsu.edu:8000/wciv/b/ba/bai/bai49.jpg

Pieta:

à Borobudur Buddha:

big jesus in rio:

taj mahal (actually a tomb) :

[China_cat]

1. Piss Christ

http://www.uniurb.it/Filosofia/bibliografie/Bataille_GiuliaFrattini/images/Serrano%20Andres,%20Piss%20Christ%201987.jpg

It may be offensive to some because of the medium, but I think it's a beautiful work of art.

[SPKrazy]

7. Offensive Because Of What It Symbolizes

pissing on Christ

[rexcat]

18. More like in the piss...

vs. being pissed on. There is a distinction.

[Jeroen]

24. very beautiful, not offensive - most christians piss on Christ daily

[datasuspect]

2. The Passion of the Stormtrooper

[beam me up scottie]

14. Okay, now THAT is funny!

:rofl:

The product of a totally warped mind. :toast:

[Evoman]

15. HAHAHA

Oh man, that is hilarious. Isn't that box guy the same one that its in the "Everytime you masterbate, god kills a kitten" poster?

I love absurd humour...the kind stuff that's totally unexpected and comes out of nowhere.

[charlie]

16. The box guy is Domo Kun

Mascot for Japan's NHK Broadcasting company. Yes, that's him in the masturbation poster. The compelling little critter has been (mis)appropriated for a lot of internet jokes :)

[calico1]

3. I like this one:

But then I like daVinci's works.
:)

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

4. Beethoven's 9th symphony.

From the chorus of the "Ode to Joy" 4th movement in English.

Oh friends, not these tones!
Rather let us sing more
cheerful and more joyful ones.
Joy! Joy!

Joy, beautiful spark of the gods,
Daughter of Elysium,
We approach fire-drunk,
Heavenly One, your shrine.
Your magic reunites
What custom sternly divides;
All people become brothers
(Schiller's original:
What custom's sword separates;
Beggars become princes' brothers)
Where your gentle wing alights.

Whoever succeeds in the great attempt
To be a friend of a friend,
Whoever has won a lovely woman,
Let him add his jubilation!
Yes, whoever calls even one soul
His own on the earth's globe!
And who never has, let him steal,
Weeping, away from this group.

All creatures drink joy
At the breasts of nature;
All the good, all the evil
Follow her roses' trail.
Kisses gave she us, and wine,
A friend, proven unto death;
Pleasure was to the worm granted,
And the cherub stands before God.

Glad, as his suns fly
Through the Heavens' glorious plan,
Run, brothers, your race,
Joyful, as a hero to victory.

Be embraced, you millions!
This kiss for the whole world!
Brothers, beyond the star-canopy
Must a loving Father dwell.
Do you bow down, you millions?
Do you sense the Creator, world?
Seek Him beyond the star-canopy!
Beyond the stars must He dwell.

Finale repeats the words:
Be embraced, ye millions!
This kiss for the whole world!
Brothers, beyond the star-canopy
Must a loving Father dwell.
Be embraced,
This kiss for the whole world!
Joy, beautiful spark of the gods,
Daughter of Elysium,
Joy, beautiful spark of the gods

[Random_Australian]

26. The hallelujah chorus, and (further down the list) Gaudete

Gaudete is latin for rejoice, btw.

5. Here is one I like - Homage to World Trade Center

Younhee Paik

[cigsandcoffee]

6. Artwork inside the Sistine Chapel isn't too shabby.

[beam me up scottie]

8. Two of my favorites:

The Terra Cotta Army of China's first Emperor of Qin:



















And, of course, the Gargoyles of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris:

[Dervill Crow]

9. Gotta love those gargoyles.

The fundies at work are not pleased that my computer, which has a gargoyle atop the monitor, is one of the few in our department of 80 that has never been infected by the viruses that have attacked our network.

He says animism; I say whatever works. (edit to add this refers to an ex-missionary, part-time minister, full-time pest.)

All your pictures are beautiful.

[beam me up scottie]

12. I'll have to get a gargoyle for my monitor!

I love the ones on Notre Dame, I saw some of them in person when I went to Paris.

The terra cotta army just blows my mind; over 8000 statues and many more treasures that are still buried.
Every soldier is different, none of their faces are the same.
Can you imagine how much time and effort went into making them, especially that long ago?
The chariot is made out of bronze and the detail is incredible.
Just think, some locals discovered this army digging a well back in 1974-who knows what else is there?

[catbert836]

10. The Laocoön

When this was uncovered in the Renaissance-era Italy buried in a farmer's field, Pope Julius II sent his best art critic to examine it to see if it was worthy of being preserved in the Vatican. His critic, Michelangelo, told Julius that it was the finest, most detailed sculpture he had ever seen and that it would be impossible to recreate, or even come close to making something as fine as it was in their era.

[TechBear_Seattle]

11. I had to go with the Pieta

Not only is it an incredibly moving piece of art on its own, it represents a very real sense of what (IMO) Christianity too often fails to express: the transcendence of human tragedy, and the need to endure that tragedy fully before finding transcendence. And the image of a woman mourning the death of a husband/lover/son is a very common image: that could just as easily be Isis and Osiris, or Cybel and Attis, Aphrodite and Adonis, or any other such pair.

[Solon]

13. Does the Taj Mahal qualify?

Just asking because I don't think it was built out of anything more than love, if you will the worship of a wife. I guess that could be a religion. :)

[tjwmason]

17. I believe that the planning of the building

is to represent the idea of heaven as found in the Islamic tradition. Thus I would certainly cite it as a fine example of Islamic art.

[Solon]

19. Good point, so religious influenced art, yeah, I can see that...

You know, I think this building should qualify for the poll:





This is the Pantheon, the most intact ancient Roman building, dedicated to ALL the Gods of Rome, hence its name. Also had the largest dome of any structure till almost a thousand years later.

[catbert836]

20. Just a small point...

The Pantheon was only dedicated to the Planetary deities (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn). Dedicating it to all of them would have required an idol of each deity, which would have been a huge hassle as all the gods included those from Greek, Roman and Etruscan tradition, as well as foreign ones imported from places like Egypt.

[TechBear_Seattle]

21. Yes and no

The original building that stood on that site, built by Consul Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa in 27 BCE, was dedidated only to the planetary deities; these gods were Mercurius, Venus, Gaia, Diana, Mars, Iupater and Saturnus. It was called the Pantheon because it was dedicated to all the planets. That temple was destroyed by fire in 80 CE and remained in ruins for 45 years.

In 125 CE, Emperor Hadrian rebuilt the Pantheon, closely following descriptions of the original with a number of design changes. The inscription on the pediment was the one on the first temple (M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIUM·FECIT, "Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, during his third consulate, built this"), as was the idea of a circular floorplan. The dome is believed to be one of Hadrian's inovations, as the dome had not developed in Italy until after Marcus' time.

Another change Hadrian made was to dedicate it to all the gods. By the time Hadrian had come to wear Imperial Purple, the Roman Empire controlled directly or indirectly most of the known world. Foreign religions were sweeping in to Rome and syncretism was a growing religious trend. Creating a space dedicated to all deities everywhere was a shrewd move, as it gave people who worshipped other gods, or traditional gods under different names, a place where they could go. No statues were placed within, nor were there any sacrifices performed within the temple precincts. Until it was converted to a Christian church in 609 CE, it was essentially a "non-denominational" chapel.

[saltpoint]

22. Love all these choices. They are spell-binding, really. Can I throw in

a write-in vote for Bernini's sculpture, THE ECSTACY OF ST. THERESA?

[TallahasseeGrannie]

23. When I was 14

I attended the 1964 World's Fair in Flushing, Queens. I saw the Pieta' then. But I was fortunate. My dad was an engineer w/ Dupont, who provided the protective PlexiGlas around it. I got a chance to go there before it opened and touch it. Everywhere. It changed my life.

But this is my next-to-fav.

[nemo137]

25. Donatello's Jeremiah

I saw it in AP Euro history junior year, and was instantly taken.

[eek]

27. jesus ikea

http://www.howstrange.com/gallery/page32.html

[dropkickpa]

28. The Book of Kells

Is truly stunning, as are many of the illuminated manuscripts of the time period (8th-10th century).



detail of bottom left corner

[Goblinmonger]

29. Guess what kind of mood I'm in

Touchdown Jesus (cause I'm drafting my fantasy league right now)


And the Freemont Troll (cause I'm getting on Amtrak for Seattle tomorrow)

[sakabatou]

30. Gustav Klimt's artwork

including parodies of his work (ie. Elfen Lied)