Medieval Christian Art: A Pathway to Heaven or Hell?

Medieval art is saturated with images of saints and Bible narratives. Have you ever wondered why? If you have read the Bible, you have probably come across these Bible verses:

‘Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God’ (Deuteronomy 5: 8-9).

These verses leave no doubt – God forbids Christians to create images and to worship them. However, depictions of Christ date as far back as the third century C.E. Why?

The reason why God’s commandment was apparently transgressed is explained to us by Pope Gregory the Great in the sixth century C.E., when he was reprimanding, in a letter, one of his bishops - Serenus of Tuy, for opposing the use of Christian images, claiming that sacred depictions were a surrogate of words for those who were illiterate and could not read the Holy Scriptures for themselves. Therefore, images functioned as visual narratives for illiterate Christians. Hence, art was seen as a functional tool, educating the believer.

Pope Gregory made a sharp distinction between using an image as a means of idolatry or as an aid ‘to learn what must be adored’, insisting that pictures taught the uneducated whom they should worship (Cited in Carruthers, 1990, p. 222). Thence, a depiction of Christ was not to be adored but instructed the Christians whom they ought to worship. It was, in fact, assumed that gentiles or commoners did not have the skill to achieve an imageless type of devotion, and for them, the guidance of pictures was essential. However, was this enough to justify the use of images and make their use a pathway to Heaven, or were those Christians using sacred depictions paving their way to Hell? Indeed, the debate is still open to these days! However, if we put ourselves in the shoes of the average medieval Christian devotee, we would hardly be capable of arguing against the use of images as we would have probably never read the Bible. Very few individuals possessed a Bible before the invention of the printing press in the fifteenth century, and the vast majority were illiterate. Therefore, they were deemed to be led by the Church rather than the word of God. Now, we want to avoid delving too deep into this rabbit hole, so whether you oppose or encourage the use of sacred images, it must be stated that their use was intrinsically functional in the Middle Ages and, in theory, had no direct correlation to idolatry. Therefore, the following paragraphs will focus on the functions of medieval sacred art as an essential part of the devotional practices of the time.

Michelino da Besozzo, Madonna and Child and saints John the Baptist and Peter Martyr, 1430 circa, Brera Gallery, Milan. Photographed by Gabriella Sentina.

As asserted by Pope Gregory, art instructed devotees whom they should adore. Examples are the thousands of images of Mary and Jesus, for instance, and the many altarpieces with saints and martyrs, which became popular starting from the thirteenth century C.E. due to a change in the liturgy. Altarpieces were made of wood and were characterised by a rectangular shape since they were designed to be placed behind the altar. These could represent the images of the patron saint of the church where they were placed, images of the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus, or a saint or martyr of the order of monks that commissioned the artwork. One of the many examples of art that was intended to instruct is the detached fresco painting by Michelino da Besozzo: Madonna and Child and saints John the Baptist and Peter Martyr, 1430 circa; now displayed at the Brera Gallery in Milan. The Madonna and Child are placed at the centre and flanked on the left by Saint John the Baptist, who is holding his chopped head (the sign of his martyrdom), and by Saint Peter Martyr on the right, who still has a machete stuck to his head. Having saints portrayed with the symbols of their martyrdom was a way to recognise them and instruct devotees about whom they were looking at and worshipping.

Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225-74 circa), claimed that ‘memory, even the memory of objects of thought, is not without an image’ (Carruthers, 1990, p. 51). This concept stems from the Aristotelean notion that memories take the shape of images, and these are stored in a vast memory bank, ready to be retrieved. Saint Bonaventura (1221-74) defended the use of sacred images too, simply because things that were heard rather than seen were more likely to be forgotten (Cited in Duggan, 1989, p. 232). Therefore, visual representations of spiritual figures and events were crucial for individuals to remember and deepen their connection with the divine and to be sure that they gained the knowledge required for ‘all good works’ (2 Timothy 3: 16 - 17). Being corrected by the word of God was essential to earning a place in Heaven, and for those who could not directly read the Bible, the aid of images was the necessary tool for them to acquire knowledge. Some visual examples are to be found in many churches' frescos and manuscripts, such as Psalters, which were often accompanied by visual narratives to facilitate the recollection of the printed words. Therefore, the way memory was thought to function justified the use of images to aid the remembrance of the Bible’s stories and teachings – presumably bringing the worshipper closer to salvation.

Religious images held immense power over individuals, fostering devotion and aiding in spiritual meditation. They were both used in sacred and secular spaces and were frequently incorporated into devotional practices to help individuals forge a deeper connection with their faith. Furthermore, these images possessed the ability to trigger empathetic responses in Christian worshippers and convey compelling narratives that enriched one’s comprehension of their beliefs. Ultimately, they played a critical role in the spiritual practices of countless individuals, providing them with a sense of comfort and connection to something greater than themselves. If we remove medieval art from the modern frame of our times and put it back in its original context, we can well understand how crucial it must have been for individuals to believe in something greater than themselves. In a time when life was challenging, uncertain, and scanned by periods of famine and food shortages, which were at least experienced once or twice during an individual’s lifetime, the ghost of death was always present. Therefore, the uncertainties of one’s material life must have been replaced with the certainty of salvation, and religious art, with its tangibility, provided that certainty.

Ultimately, having considered all the different functions with which sacred medieval art was invested and the importance that these played in everyday life of the average and illiterate believer, they could have only been considered a pathway to heaven and salvation rather than objects of idolatry.

Bibliography Carruthers, M. (1990) The Book of Memory, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Deuteronomy 5: 8 -9, King James’ version of the Bible.

Duggan, L. G. (1989) ‘Was art really the “book of the illiterate”?’, Word and Image, vol. 5, pp.227-51.

Timothy 3: 16 – 17, King James’ version of the Bible.

Woods, K. W. (2012) ‘Sacred art as the ‘Bible of the Poor’, Art & Visual Culture 1100-1600 Medieval to Renaissance, London: Tate Publishing in association with The Open University, pp. 17 – 53.