Sacred Muse : A Preface to Christian Art & Music

This concise guide provides an introduction to the rich and variegated subject of Christian currents through art and music down the ages.

This small book provides an introduction to the rich and variegated subject of Christian currents through art and music down the ages, from Early Christian art to the present. It is personal and selective in its focus on favorite major artists and their subjects as exemplars of a wide range of sacred themes. The author’s lifelong professional focus on the Baroque giants Rubens and Bernini, along with the revolutionary Caravaggio, is evident in the central place they claim as he places them in the context of the broader tradition: medieval art, Michelangelo, Titian, Bellini, Rembrandt, Tiepolo, and other giants of the Renaissance and Baroque. Scribner’s focus is decidedly European—not global. The masters of music will be equally familiar to readers and listeners: from Palestrina and Vivaldi to Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, and Verdi down to the 20th century. It is intended to be protreptic, something that will encourage and spur on the reader—teacher, student, amateur alike—to pursue her or his own explorations in periods and artists that likewise hold special appeal. Includes 45 color and b&w illustrations.