Religion as Expressed in Art, Music and Literature Essay -- Visual Art

Salvador Dali, born in Spain in 1904, was one of world's most famous Surrealist artists. His work is popular amongst modern society as well as art enthusiasts and often interweaves bizarre and thought-provoking ideas with abstract images, many of these symbolising dreams and fantasies. His paintings explore the connection between reality and fantasy, and he once described his own work as "hand painted dream photographs". His exploration of fantasy and subconscious is pronounced clearly in "The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper", painted in 1955. The painting shows Dali's depiction of The Last Supper. Jesus is centred at the table with his twelve Disciples kneeling devoutly, with heads bowed, in perfect symmetry, as if two groups of six were mirroring each other on either side of Jesus. Above Jesus we see a transparent image of his own body. Dali painted this image to be interpreted by the individual in different ways. It represents both the literal Jesus; about to be betrayed and facing his arrest and crucifixion, and the spiritual Jesus; the belief in God and the faith that is present with Christians. A person with a non religious view would most probably see this as the literal sense of Christ, where as a Christian or otherwise religious person would be more likely to see both the literal and the spiritual representations. In the background, we are able to see a calm lake surrounded by barren hills. A mystical 'aura' of light rests in the centre of the landscape. Again, the interpretation of what this represents lies within the individual. It could merely be part of the beautiful Palestinian landscape, or it could be a holy aura of light emanating from Jesus, to represent his divinity. Dali presents us with a conflict of the literal reality and the religious mysticism, knowing that "only the eye of faith can pierce the veil of understanding". Situated in front of Jesus on the table are a broken loaf of ordinary brown bread and a glass of red wine. The Bible tells us how Jesus gave his disciples the blessed bread and the wine to represent his body and his blood. "This is my body, which is for you. Do this in memory of me" 1 Corinthians 11:24 In this painting, Dali gives us a sense of spirituality. He achieves this using the viewers' imaginary contribution rather than the actual representation of his images. To... ...nterpret it their self and form their own conclusions based on this. There are also a few biblical references to the arts in Christianity. "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord" Ephesians 5:19 Additionally, when people are listening to a piece of religious music or to a certain extent viewing a piece of religious art or drama, they can sometimes encounter a numinous experience, similar to that which somebody may feel upon entering a greatly religious building or beautiful place. Many people have experienced this while listening to the 'Hallelujah Chorus' from Handel's 'Messiah'. In my opinion, the arts are one the best ways to express a religious idea, as I strongly believe that some things that can not be described verbally can be spoken through music or art. It seems to me that although conventional methods of worshipping a religion are successful in many ways, the arts can be a more effective way to express religious reasoning and help people to form their own conclusions about religion without encountering bias from people who already have strong religious, or anti-religious, views.