Santa Maria del Fiore or Florence Cathedral.
Someone in the whole body of the congregation of the church may have the designation of a “hand” because of his practical gifts. —Origen
Filippo Brunelleschi believed in quality control. In the early fifteenth century he created a daring plan for the dome of the Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral in Florence, Italy. Combining the ideal placement of brick and stone, he designed a dome without the support of flying buttresses that bolstered other towering churches. Consequently, he needed perfectly made bricks placed in exact formation.
As the dome rose higher and higher, Brunelleschi often personally inspected the bricks. According to the artist Giorgio Vasari, “[Brunelleschi] himself went to the kilns where the bricks were being formed, since he wanted to see the clay and knead it himself, and when the bricks were baked, he wanted to pick them out as carefully as possible with his own hands. He would examine the stones being used by the stone-cutters to see if they were hard or contained any thin cracks.” Because of this attention to detail, the cathedral’s dome still stands—and ranks as the largest in the world.
Brunelleschi’s story highlights that Christian art and architecture of the past required hand work. Artists and architects planned their work, selected materials, and created images with their hands. At times, artists also destroyed the work of their hands. Vasari explained that Michelangelo Buonarroti “had such a distinctive and perfect imagination and the works he envisioned were of such a nature that he found it impossible to express such grandiose and awesome conceptions with his hands that he often abandoned his works, or rather ruined many of them.”
Scripture reminds us that working with our hands patterns after God. The psalmist exclaimed, “For You, Lord, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands. O Lord, how great are Your works!” (Ps. 92:4-5, NKJV). In turn, the prophet Moses modeled asking God to bless the work of his hands. He prayed, “And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands” (Ps. 90:17, NKJV).
We can imagine this prayer lingering on the lips of Christian artists as they created art styles and forms that spoke to successive generations about the Gospel. Contemporaries of Fr Angelico, the fifteenth century Dominican friar, claimed “he would never take up his pencil until he had first made supplication.” Perhaps before the friar painted stunning angels and tender Madonnas, he implored heaven to guide and bless his hands. The ancient Celts prayed, “May there always be work for your hands to do. May your purse always hold a coin or two.” This blessing was also apt for artists!
Certainly, the history of Christian art is the story of artists and craftsmen working with their hands. Many millions of hands, hearts, and minds left behind a legacy—a testament to the faith—that still teaches and inspires us today. As we explore the eras and forms of Christian art, we can also pray, “Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands.”
Learn more about Christian artists working with their hands in The Art of Faith by Judith Couchman. It's available at amazon.com.
Filippo Brunelleschi believed in quality control. In the early fifteenth century he created a daring plan for the dome of the Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral in Florence, Italy. Combining the ideal placement of brick and stone, he designed a dome without the support of flying buttresses that bolstered other towering churches. Consequently, he needed perfectly made bricks placed in exact formation.
As the dome rose higher and higher, Brunelleschi often personally inspected the bricks. According to the artist Giorgio Vasari, “[Brunelleschi] himself went to the kilns where the bricks were being formed, since he wanted to see the clay and knead it himself, and when the bricks were baked, he wanted to pick them out as carefully as possible with his own hands. He would examine the stones being used by the stone-cutters to see if they were hard or contained any thin cracks.” Because of this attention to detail, the cathedral’s dome still stands—and ranks as the largest in the world.
Brunelleschi’s story highlights that Christian art and architecture of the past required hand work. Artists and architects planned their work, selected materials, and created images with their hands. At times, artists also destroyed the work of their hands. Vasari explained that Michelangelo Buonarroti “had such a distinctive and perfect imagination and the works he envisioned were of such a nature that he found it impossible to express such grandiose and awesome conceptions with his hands that he often abandoned his works, or rather ruined many of them.”
Scripture reminds us that working with our hands patterns after God. The psalmist exclaimed, “For You, Lord, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands. O Lord, how great are Your works!” (Ps. 92:4-5, NKJV). In turn, the prophet Moses modeled asking God to bless the work of his hands. He prayed, “And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands” (Ps. 90:17, NKJV).
We can imagine this prayer lingering on the lips of Christian artists as they created art styles and forms that spoke to successive generations about the Gospel. Contemporaries of Fr Angelico, the fifteenth century Dominican friar, claimed “he would never take up his pencil until he had first made supplication.” Perhaps before the friar painted stunning angels and tender Madonnas, he implored heaven to guide and bless his hands. The ancient Celts prayed, “May there always be work for your hands to do. May your purse always hold a coin or two.” This blessing was also apt for artists!
Certainly, the history of Christian art is the story of artists and craftsmen working with their hands. Many millions of hands, hearts, and minds left behind a legacy—a testament to the faith—that still teaches and inspires us today. As we explore the eras and forms of Christian art, we can also pray, “Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands.”
Learn more about Christian artists working with their hands in The Art of Faith by Judith Couchman. It's available at amazon.com.
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