Abstract
The Renaissance was a fertile era for the rise of religious art mainly based on Biblical narratives from the Old and New testaments. Daunting imagery from the Book of Revelation (The Apocalypse) did not inspire the creation of many paintings. It was Albrecht Durer (1471-1528) and William Blake (1757-1827) who produced several Biblical truths largely concentrating on the apocalyptic vision. This profound book contains a rich corpus of animal symbols, which provide challenging archetypes for contemporary painters in Nigeria and elsewhere. These have been presented in this paper chronologically in a lexicon; possible interpretations and analysis of the dense motifs are offered as guide to contemporary Nigerian painters and those interested in pursuing the merits of sacred art. Secondary sources of data have essentially informed the prognosis in this paper. The author acknowledges that this is an ongoing study and it is likely to be deepened when newer insights are gotten from further research. Key w ords : God, Christ, Renaissance, Sacred Art, Apocalypse, Angels, Woman, Dragon, Sulphur, Beast
Highlights
Man’s quest, from primordial times to date, has been the desire for visual discovery through art: an attempt to conquer reality via a mimesis of nature and illusion (Gombrich 1982)
In as much as the names Michelangelo (1475-1564), Raphael (1483-1520) and Rembrandt (1606-1669) recall the most profound of renaissance art, they bequeathed to mankind the most prolific oeuvres of religious art
This paper does not aim to scrutinize the aspirations of naturalism in religious art but to present concise occurrences of art drawn directly from the spiritual pedigree, examine their application and provide further areas of exploration essentially derived from the Book of the Revelation to St
Summary
Man’s quest, from primordial times to date, has been the desire for visual discovery through art: an attempt to conquer reality via a mimesis of nature and illusion (Gombrich 1982). Note that animal forms in some cases refer to creatures, beasts, humanoid or satanic beings. The Red Dragon - Revelation 12:3,4,7-9, 13-18 - The dragon is a huge red creature, has seven heads with a crown on each one and bears ten horns.
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