The Image of Christ in Modern Art by Richard Harris

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This relatively slim volume (just over 150 pages) gives a solid introduction to the main British artists working during the 20^th Century on more or less explicitly Christian themes. This is not, as the title might imply, just a study on the representation of Christ, it deals with a much more broad sweep of work.

The majority of the artists, and indeed many of the works, featured were familiar to me, but it was still rewarding to have someone guide you through their work and set them in context. This is the kind of book that tempts you to find out more – there were usually just one or two pictures per artist reproduced but the narrative mentioned many others, and you want to go and find those.

It also helps to set a frame of mind, which you can apply to other works of art that you encounter. I guess that this fall on the side of an “art history” rather than “devotional” (in contrast to say Stephen Cottrell's book Christ in the Wilderness which also looks at some of the works of Stanley Spencer featured here). However having said that, Richard Harris, as a person of faith, is in tune with the devotional potential of these works and so there is a certain blurring of the boundaries.

Perhaps one of the most important insights is the role of a few key individuals within the Church as patrons to these artists. Unfortunately the general art market sees no value in religious themes, and therefore artists need commissions from the Church in order to be able to give time to exploring such material. There is often a tension when it comes to commissioning work, the Church is too timid about what are acceptable responses or forms of expression. Even if (and that is a reasonable big “if”) it is harder to find “Christian” artists today – surely there will never be a shortage artists who wish to explore the great themes of life, to wrestle with meaning, to seek the essence of humanity and its place within the cosmos. All of these things are valid “Christian” explorations – and the Christian narrative is an appropriate vehicle for their exploration with or without signing up to creedal or doctrinal understanding of the faith.