Customer Reviews

Dictionary of Christian Art

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As a church architect, liturgical consultant and church geek, I love this book. I keep it at my desk, so that when I need to know, "How has the transfiguration traditionally been represented in Christian art?" or "What are the traditional Christian associations with violets?" I can look it up quickly, and quickly know enough to be able to do deeper research. Christian art and iconography are becoming a lost language, so that few of us can connect with all the layers of meaning in a piece of art that would have been explicit to earlier generations.

I also find, with the extensive cross references, that I can easily lose track of time browsing in this book. I will start out looking up one entry, then become fascinated by the threads that connect it to other entries, or even just something on the same page that catches my eye.

I wish the illustrations from Medieval, Renaissance and Counter-Reformation art could have been reproduced in color, as many of them are quite beautiful, but again, the point of this book is to give the reader a point of entry: enough information to know where to look for more. As such, the black and white reproductions merely whet the appetite.