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Letter to Artists On the Place and Significance of Art (April 4, 1999) That is why it seems to me that there are no better words than the text of Genesis with which to begin my Letter to you, to whom I feel closely linked by experiences reaching far back in time and which have indelibly marked my life. In writing this Letter, I intend to follow the path of the fruitful dialogue between the Church and artists which has gone on unbroken through two thousand years of history, and which still, at the threshold of the Third Millennium, offers rich promise for the future. In fact, this dialogue is not dictated merely by historical accident or practical need, but is rooted in the very essence of both religious experience and artistic creativity. The opening page of the Bible presents God as a kind of exemplar of everyone who produces a work: the human craftsman mirrors the image of God as Creator. This relationship is particularly clear in the Polish language because of the lexical link between the words stwórca (creator) and twórca (craftsman). What is the difference between "creator" and "craftsman"?
The one who creates bestows being itself, he brings something out of nothing
ex nihilo sui et subiecti, as the Latin puts it and this, in
the strict sense, is a mode of operation which belongs to the Almighty alone.
The craftsman, by contrast, uses something that already exists, to which he
gives form and meaning. This is the mode of operation peculiar to man as made in
the image of God. In fact, after saying that God created man and woman "in his
image" (cf. Gn 1:27), the Bible adds that he entrusted to them the task of
dominating the earth (cf. Gn 1:28). This was the last day of creation (cf. Gn
1:28-31). On the previous days, marking as it were the rhythm of the birth of
the cosmos, YHVH had created the universe. Finally he created the human being,
the noblest fruit of his design, to whom he subjected the visible world as a
vast field in which human inventiveness might assert itself. That is why artists, the more conscious they are of their
"gift", are led all the more to see themselves and the whole of creation with
eyes able to contemplate and give thanks, and to raise to God a hymn of praise.
This is the only way for them to come to a full understanding of themselves,
their vocation and their mission. This prime epiphany of "God who is Mystery" is both an encouragement and a challenge to Christians, also at the level of artistic creativity. From it has come a flowering of beauty which has drawn its sap precisely from the mystery of the Incarnation. In becoming man, the Son of God has introduced into human history all the evangelical wealth of the true and the good, and with this he has also unveiled a new dimension of beauty, of which the Gospel message is filled to the brim. Sacred Scripture has thus become a sort of "immense vocabulary" (Paul Claudel) and "iconographic atlas" (Marc Chagall), from which both Christian culture and art have drawn. The Old Testament, read in the light of the New, has provided endless streams of inspiration. From the stories of the Creation and sin, the Flood, the cycle of the Patriarchs, the events of the Exodus to so many other episodes and characters in the history of salvation, the biblical text has fired the imagination of painters, poets, musicians, playwrights and film-makers. A figure like Job, to take but one example, with his searing and ever relevant question of suffering, still arouses an interest which is not just philosophical but literary and artistic as well. And what should we say of the New Testament? From the Nativity to Golgotha, from the Transfiguration to the Resurrection, from the miracles to the teachings of Christ, and on to the events recounted in the Acts of the Apostles or foreseen by the Apocalypse in an eschatological key, on countless occasions the biblical word has become image, music and poetry, evoking the mystery of "the Word made flesh" in the language of art. In the history of human culture, all of this is a rich
chapter of faith and beauty. Believers above all have gained from it in their
experience of prayer and Christian living. Indeed for many of them, in times
when few could read or write, representations of the Bible were a concrete mode
of catechesis.7 But for everyone, believers or not, the works of art inspired by
Scripture remain a reflection of the unfathomable mystery which engulfs and
inhabits the world. Believers find nothing strange in this: they know that they have had a momentary glimpse of the abyss of light which has its original wellspring in God. Is it in any way surprising that this leaves the spirit overwhelmed as it were, so that it can only stammer in reply? True artists above all are ready to acknowledge their limits and to make their own the words of the Apostle Paul, according to whom "God does not dwell in shrines made by human hands" so that "we ought not to think that the Deity is like gold or silver or stone, a representation by human art and imagination" (Acts 17:24, 29). If the intimate reality of things is always "beyond" the powers of human perception, how much more so is God in the depths of his unfathomable mystery! The knowledge conferred by faith is of a different kind: it presupposes a personal encounter with God in Jesus Christ. Yet this knowledge too can be enriched by artistic intuition. An eloquent example of aesthetic contemplation sublimated in faith are, for example, the works of Fra Angelico. No less notable in this regard is the ecstatic lauda, which Saint Francis of Assisi twice repeats in the chartula which he composed after receiving the stigmata of Christ on the mountain of La Verna: "You are beauty... You are beauty!".8 Saint Bonaventure comments: "In things of beauty, he contemplated the One who is supremely beautiful, and, led by the footprints he found in creatures, he followed the Beloved everywhere".9 A corresponding approach is found in Eastern spirituality where Christ is described as "the supremely Beautiful, possessed of a beauty above all the children of earth".10 Macarius the Great speaks of the transfiguring and liberating beauty of the Risen Lord in these terms: "The soul which has been fully illumined by the unspeakable beauty of the glory shining on the countenance of Christ overflows with the Holy Spirit... it is all eye, all light, all countenance".11 Every genuine art form in its own way is a path to the
inmost reality of man and of the world. It is therefore a wholly valid approach
to the realm of faith, which gives human experience its ultimate meaning. That
is why the Gospel fullness of truth was bound from the beginning to stir the
interest of artists, who by their very nature are alert to every "epiphany" of
the inner beauty of things. You know, however, that the Church has not ceased to nurture great appreciation for the value of art as such. Even beyond its typically religious expressions, true art has a close affinity with the world of faith, so that, even in situations where culture and the Church are far apart, art remains a kind of bridge to religious experience. In so far as it seeks the beautiful, fruit of an imagination which rises above the everyday, art is by its nature a kind of appeal to the mystery. Even when they explore the darkest depths of the soul or the most unsettling aspects of evil, artists give voice in a way to the universal desire for redemption. It is clear, therefore, why the Church is especially
concerned for the dialogue with art and is keen that in our own time there be a
new alliance with artists, as called for by my revered predecessor Paul VI in
his vibrant speech to artists during a special meeting he had with them in the
Sistine Chapel on 7 May 1964.17 From such cooperation the Church hopes for a
renewed "epiphany" of beauty in our time and apt responses to the particular
needs of the Christian community. On this basis, at the end of the Council the Fathers
addressed a greeting and an appeal to artists: "This world"they said "in which
we live needs beauty in order not to sink into despair. Beauty, like truth,
brings joy to the human heart and is that precious fruit which resists the
erosion of time, which unites generations and enables them to be one in
admiration!".19 In this spirit of profound respect for beauty, the Constitution
on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium recalled the historic
friendliness of the Church towards art and, referring more specifically to
sacred art, the "summit" of religious art, did not hesitate to consider artists
as having "a noble ministry" when their works reflect in some way the infinite
beauty of God and raise people's minds to him.20 Thanks also to the help of
artists "the knowledge of God can be better revealed and the preaching of the
Gospel can become clearer to the human mind". 21 In this light, it comes as no
surprise when Father Marie Dominique Chenu claims that the work of the historian
of theology would be incomplete if he failed to give due attention to works of
art, both literary and figurative, which are in their own way "not only
aesthetic representations, but genuine `sources' of theology".22 The Church has need especially of those who can do this on the literary and figurative level, using the endless possibilities of images and their symbolic force. Christ himself made extensive use of images in his preaching, fully in keeping with his willingness to become, in the Incarnation, the icon of the unseen God. The Church also needs musicians. How many sacred works have been composed through the centuries by people deeply imbued with the sense of the mystery! The faith of countless believers has been nourished by melodies flowing from the hearts of other believers, either introduced into the liturgy or used as an aid to dignified worship. In song, faith is experienced as vibrant joy, love, and confident expectation of the saving intervention of God. The Church needs architects, because she needs spaces to
bring the Christian people together and celebrate the mysteries of salvation.
After the terrible destruction of the last World War and the growth of great
cities, a new generation of architects showed themselves adept at responding to
the exigencies of Christian worship, confirming that the religious theme can
still inspire architectural design in our own day. Not infrequently these
architects have constructed churches which are both places of prayer and true
works of art. In fact, the religious theme has been among those most
frequently treated by artists in every age. The Church has always appealed to
their creative powers in interpreting the Gospel message and discerning its
precise application in the life of the Christian community. This partnership has
been a source of mutual spiritual enrichment. Ultimately, it has been a great
boon for an understanding of man, of the authentic image and truth of the
person. The special bond between art and Christian revelation has also become
evident. This does not mean that human genius has not found inspiration in other
religious contexts. It is enough to recall the art of the ancient world,
especially Greek and Roman art, or the art which still flourishes in the very
ancient civilizations of the East. It remains true, however, that because of its
central doctrine of the Incarnation of the Word of God, Christianity offers
artists a horizon especially rich in inspiration. What an impoverishment it
would be for art to abandon the inexhaustible mine of the Gospel! Human beings, in a certain sense, are unknown to
themselves. Jesus Christ not only reveals God, but "fully reveals man to man".23
In Christ, God has reconciled the world to himself. All believers are called to
bear witness to this; but it is up to you, men and women who have given your
lives to art, to declare with all the wealth of your ingenuity that in Christ
the world is redeemed: the human person is redeemed, the human body is redeemed,
and the whole creation which, according to Saint Paul, "awaits impatiently the
revelation of the children of God" (Rom 8:19), is redeemed. The creation awaits
the revelation of the children of God also through art and in art. This is your
task. Humanity in every age, and even today, looks to works of art to shed light
upon its path and its destiny. Thanks to this enthusiasm, humanity, every time it loses its way, will be able to lift itself up and set out again on the right path. In this sense it has been said with profound insight that "beauty will save the world".25 Beauty is a key to the mystery and a call to
transcendence. It is an invitation to savour life and to dream of the future.
That is why the beauty of created things can never fully satisfy. It stirs that
hidden nostalgia for God which a lover of beauty like Saint Augustine could
express in incomparable terms: "Late have I loved you, beauty so old and so new:
late have I loved you!". 26 May you be guided and inspired by the mystery of the Risen Christ, whom the Church in these days contemplates with joy. May the Blessed Virgin Mary be with you always: she is the "tota pulchra" portrayed by countless artists, whom Dante contemplates among the splendours of Paradise as "beauty that was joy in the eyes of all the other saints".27 "From chaos there rises the world of the spirit". These words of Adam Mickiewicz, written at a time of great hardship for his Polish homeland,28 prompt my hope for you: may your art help to affirm that true beauty which, as a glimmer of the Spirit of God, will transfigure matter, opening the human soul to the sense of the eternal. With my heartfelt good wishes!
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