Reply To: Iconoclasm

[Lucas Warthen]

I feel like Byzantine art is somewhat hard to identify. The second commandment comes down to ‘you shall have no other gods or false idols’ which makes some of the Byzantine art borderline. A lot of the Byzantine art (especially murals in churches) are dedicated to saints and are Madden and Child (Mary and Jesus) which I see as the borderline examples. Saints, the ones I have read about (and Alexandria seen in one of the murals) are almost magical humans. They are often martyrs, virgins, and larger-than-life figures, representing perfect figures of Godly humans. It makes sense for them to be depicted in churches but I think that places them on a pedestal even with God which breaks the second commandment. Madden and Child depictions ride another fine line but I think it still breaks the commandment despite the presence of ‘The Son’ in the image.