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75 Masterpieces Every Christian Should Know: The Fascinating Stories Behind Great Works of Art, Literature, Music and Film
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Art becomes a masterpiece when it stands the test of time and challenges its viewers to see the world from a new perspective. The vast legacy of human expression is therefore a rich resource of introspection and wisdom for Christians today. 75 Masterpieces Every Christian Should Know anthologizes some of humanity’s most influential and renowned works of art. Terry Glaspey masterfully analyzes how each piece responds to the reality of the human condition and Christian truth. Glaspey examines architecture, plays, novels, paintings, films, and even albums, evoking how some probe the dark corners of human suffering, while others capture the mystery, beauty, and wonder of life. Each selection is universally revered for its craftsmanship and ubiquitously esteemed across both time and cultures. From Rembrandt’s The Return of the ProdigalSon to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice to Johnny Cash’s At Folsom Prison, every masterpiece reveals some truth that has both enriched the Christian faith and left an indelible mark on the legacy of artistic achievement. Through engaging these masterpieces, Christians today can enrich their own faith with the creativity of history’s brilliant artists.
This book serves as both historian and biographer, as devotional and art criticism. May this book be a modest doorway into a world of deeper appreciation, a guide to the treasures of our tradition that enriches both your faith and understanding of the human experience.
ISBN-13: 9780802420879
Media Type: Paperback
Publisher: Moody Publishers
Publication Date: 02-02-2021
Pages: 384
Product Dimensions: 8.90(w) x 6.70(h) x 1.00(d)
TERRY GLASPEY is an author, creative mentor, and teaches at Northwind Seminary. He holds a D.Min. in spiritual formation and an M.A. in history. He has written over a dozen books, including Discovering God Through the Arts (winner of a Christianity Today Book Award and a Gospel Coalition Book Award), 75 Masterpieces Every Christian Should Know (winner of a Christianity Today Award), The Prayers of Jane Austen, 25 Keys to Life-Changing Prayer and Bible Basics for Everyone. Terry has been a featured speaker at colleges, conferences, and churches throughout the United States, as well as in Canada, Taiwan, and the UK. You can reach him through his website, terryglaspey.com.
Praise for 75 Masterpieces Every Christian Should Know “What a treasure to see how God has used the talents of His people to express their faith and His glory through music, literature, architecture, and more. I loved seeing threads of God’s goodness woven throughout each unique story. Thank you, Terry, for your passion to bring these masterpieces to our attention and into our hearts!” “Why should the Creator have stopped speaking through art and music with Giotto or Bach? In this beautifully illustrated and conceived book, Terry Glaspey takes us on a comprehensive tour of art, music, and architecture from the ancient world up to the present.” “Thousands of Christian books are published every year. In the midst of the steady torrent of clamoring voices, there will inevitably stand above the rest a few that make a unique mark. This is one of these books. My friend Terry has penned a gem here, helping us see and appreciate the voice of God’s Spirit in the cultural matrix of the now and the past. 75 MasterpiecesEvery Christian Should Know is simply magical. Trust me. This stands way out.” “Terry Glaspey offers a feast of art, film, music, and literature to satisfy the soul. In 75 MasterpiecesEvery Christian Should Know he presents enduring works that brilliantly express the faith, exploring their meaning, technique, and significance. An essential for any Christian, this book beautifully celebrates the creative spirit of Christianity.” “As a songwriter, I have found it impossible to separate the most important part of my life—my faith—from my music. Thanks to Terry’s new book, I now see that I am in good company. Terry masterfully blends his gift of words with his passion for history and the arts, making it inspiringly clear that so many of the greatest works of art in history indeed do bear the fingerprints of our Creator.” “This is more than a collection of art; it is a trove of carefully studied treasures. Terry Glaspey’s research and insights combine, much like the art he’s studied, to create rich and redemptive readings that both engage and inspire. These pages will cause you to wonder at the creative genius resplendent in the people of God and fill you with the pleasure of His presence as it appears in all things skillfully crafted.” “I absolutely love this book! Reading 75 Masterpieces Every Christian Should Know feels like a walk through an art museum, where you relish each creative piece before you. To discover commonality in the creative works of Dante, Hildegard of Bingen, Albrecht Dürer, Michelangelo, Martin Luther, Frederick Buechner, J. R. R. Tolkien, Emily Dickinson, Bob Dylan, and dozens of other artists, musicians, painters, writers, and scholars from various time periods is to find my heartbeat. Terry doesn’t just introduce us to these fascinating, breathtakingly beautiful works of art—some of them familiar and some of them new—but also shares the background of each artist’s life, faith, historical timeframe, and how they came to craft their particular work. While experiencing this book, you will, as Buechner’s Saint Godric, find ‘the grace of God smack in the middle of a fallen world.’” “Terry Glaspey seems to know a bit about everything and a lot about the things that matter most. I would read anything he wrote, but this unique volume surpassed my great expectations. If you enjoy pondering the connections between faith, art, culture, and daily discipleship, you will adore this. 75 Masterpieces Every Christian Should Know is itself a masterpiece. Who else can tell you about a painting by Caravaggio, a novel by Jane Austen, and a live album by Johnny Cash all in the same book? Thanks be to God for Glaspey’s clear faith, informed knowledge, and winsome writing that can help us glean spiritual insight in cultural projects from to Dante to Dylan, from Rembrandt to The Tree of Life.” “Most writers just set the table, but Terry Glaspey has brought the meal. By curating these great works into one book, Terry offers an artful feast of the ages! Come and partake; you will not leave hungry! He reminds us that we have a magnificent ‘heritage in the arts of which we can be justifiably proud.’ May this rich album of our artistic inheritance inspire us as we but ‘stand on the shoulders’ of the giants who have come before. Every artist should read this book. Every Christian should too. “In 75 Masterpieces Every Christian Should Know, Terry Glaspey traces the scarlet thread of Christian thought through the ages, following it through the veins of fine art, music, poetry, and architecture. Expounding upon the historical significance of each masterpiece, and including stunning images, Glaspey opens the vault, showing us the treasures of our Christian artistic heritage. A page-turner from the start, 75 Masterpieces Every Christian Should Know exposes us to the uncommon beauty birthed by the uncommon men and women of faith. Simply put, Glaspey’s work is one of the most informative, enjoyable, and artistically inspirational books I’ve read in some time.” “Terry Glaspey has done us all a great favor with his new book, 75 Masterpieces Every Christian Should Know. He invites us to become his traveling companions on an adventure through two thousand years of Christian expression. These stories will inspire and expand your appreciation for the beauty, glory, majesty, and mystery of God as expressed through art, literature, music, and film.” “Sitting down with 75 Masterpieces Every Christian Should Know is like enjoying a great meal at a fine restaurant—it’s rich, it’s fulfilling, and each new piece is wonderful. There is so much to like I’m not even sure where to start. Terry Glaspey has created a great read, with interesting stories about the best art ever created.” “New York Times columnist David Brooks has written that when ‘you experience great art, you widen your repertoire of emotions.’ If Brooks is right (and I believe he is), then Terry Glaspey has given us a profound resource for expanding our repertoire through the works he introduces and reflects on wisely, deeply, and artfully in this book. Feast on the sights, sounds, and words covered here as Glaspey does what few could with such elegance: dwell on centuries of art, architecture, poetry, books, music, and film created to the glory of God and in doing so, open a well of appreciation—and emotion—in the hearts and minds of his readers.” “75 Masterpieces Every Christian Should Know is a spectacular affirmation that yes, we are created in God’s image. The very God who created the cosmos has placed within us the desire to create as well—no wonder we are so compelled to paint, to write, to sing! This book is a museum unlike any other—one that explores some of the noblest expressions of human creativity that, in one way or another, point back to the majesty and beauty of God. You’ll find yourself enriched as you survey the remarkable variety of ways people who profess faith have reflected God’s image in the arts.” “Writing voluminously through lovingly spare words, Terry Glaspey has done a great service to the church and the world. He reminds us of the loamy richness that is the legacy of those who relentlessly ‘kick at the darkness till it bleeds daylight.’ There is so much to be grateful for in this book.”What People are Saying About This
From the Publisher
—Lysa TerKeurst, New York Times bestselling author and president of Proverbs 31 Ministries
—Michael Card, singer/songwriter and bestselling author
—A. J. Swoboda, professor at George Fox Evangelical Seminary and author of A Glorious Dark
—Judith Couchman, art historian and author of The Art of Faith and The Mystery of the Cross
—Matthew West, award-winning singer/songwriter
—Marty Trammell, Humanities Chair, Corban University
—Cornelia Becker Seigneur, author of WriterMom Tales and founding director of the Faith & Culture Writers Conference
—Byron Borger, owner and founder of Hearts and Minds Bookstore
—Nicole Johnson, author, dramatist for Women of Faith
—Seth Haines, author of Coming Clean
—Jim Thomas, pastor of The Village Chapel, Nashville, Tennessee
—Chip MacGregor, MacGregor Literary Agency
—Jeff Crosby, editor and compiler, Days of Grace through the Year
—Steve Miller, author of C. H. Spurgeon on Spiritual Leadership
—Steve Bell, award-winning singer/songwriter
Introduction 13 Introduction to the Moody Edition 17 1 Paintings in the Roman Catacombs, unknown (paintings, c. 300) 19 2 The Book of Kells, unknown (illuminated manuscript, c.550) 23 3 Gregorian Chant, unknown (choral works, c. 580) 27 4 Chartres Cathedral, unknown (cathedral, 1134) 31 5 Ordo Virtutum, Hildegard of Bingen (choral work, c. 1151) 36 6 The Windows of Sainte-Chapelle, unknown (stained glass, 1248) 40 7 The Scrovegni Chapel Frescoes, Giotto (paintings, c. 1305) 44 8 The Divine Comedy, Dante (poem, c.1320) 48 9 The Holy Trinity Icon, Andrei Rublev (painting, c. 1410) 52 10 The Adoration of the Lamb, Jan van Eyck (paintings, 1432) 56 11 The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Albrecht Dürer (woodcut, 1498) 60 12 The Garden of Earthly Delights, Hieronymus Bosch (paintings, c. 1500) 64 13 The Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo (painting, 1508-1512) 69 14 "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God," Martin Luther (hymn, c. 1529) 74 15 The Procession to Calvary, Pieter Bruegel (painting, 1564) 78 16 The Burial of the Count of Orgaz, El Greco (painting, c. 1586) 82 17 The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, Caravaggio (painting, 1601-1602) 87 18 The Holy Sonnets, John Donne (poems, 1633) 92 19 The Temple, George Herbert (poems, 1633) 96 20 Agnus Dei, Francisco de Zurbarán (painting, c. 1635-1640) 100 21 St. Teresa in Ecstasy, Bernini (sculpture, 1652) 104 22 The Return of the Prodigal Son, Rembrandt (painting, c. 1669) 109 23 The Pilgrim's Progress, John Bunyan (novel, 1678) 114 24 "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross," Isaac Watts (hymn, 1707) 118 25 St. Matthew Passion, Johann Sebastian Bach (oratorio, 1727) 122 26 Messiah-George Frideric Handel (oratorio, 1741) 126 27 "Amazing Grace," John Newton (hymn, 1779) 130 28 Songs of Innocence and Experience, William Blake (poems, 1789-1794) 134 29 The Creation, Franz Joseph Haydn (oratorio, 1798) 139 30 Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen (novel, 1813) 143 31 The Wanderer above the Sea of Fog, Caspar David Friedrich (painting, 1818) 148 32 Symphony no. 5, The Reformation, Felix Mendelssohn (classical music, 1830) 153 33 The Voyage of Life, Thomas Cole (paintings, 1842) 157 34 The Light of the World, William Holman Hunt (painting, 1854) 163 35 The Heart of the Andes, Frederic Edwin Church (painting, 1859) 168 36 Fairy Tales, George MacDonald (stories, c. 1871) 173 37 The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoyevsky (novel, 1879) 178 38 La Sagrada Família Cathedral, Antoni Gaudí (cathedral, begun 1882) 182 39 Starry Night, Vincent van Gogh (painting, 1889) 187 40 The Complete Poems, Emily Dickinson (poems, 1890) 193 41 The Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ, James Tissot (paintings, 1896) 198 42 The Annunciation, Henry Ossawa Tanner (painting, 1898) 202 43 The Innocence of Father Brown, G. K. Chesterton (short stories, 1911) 207 44 The Life of Christ, Emil Nolde (paintings, 1912) 212 45 Poems, Gerard Manley Hopkins (poems, 1918) 217 46 The Resurrection at Cookham, Stanley Spencer (painting, 1926) 221 47 Death Comes for the Archbishop, Willa Cather (novel, 1927) 226 48 The Passion of Joan of Arc, Carl Theodore Dreyer (film, 1928) 230 49 Head of Christ, Georges Rouault (painting, 1937) 234 50 The Power and the Glory, Graham Greene (novel, 1940) 239 51 Quartet for the End of Time, Olivier Messiaen (classical music, 1941) 243 52 Four Quartets, T. S. Eliot (poems, 1943) 248 53 The Man Born to Be King, Dorothy L. Sayers (drama, 1943) 253 54 Rome, Open City, Roberto Rossellini (film, 1945) 258 55 It's a Wonderful Life, Frank Capra (film, 1946) 263 56 "I Will Move On Up a Little Higher," Mahalia Jackson (recording, 1947) 267 57 The Chronicles of Narnia, C. S. Lewis (children's stories, 1950-1956) 272 58 The Lord of the Rings, J. R. R. Tolkien (novels, 1954-1955) 277 59 A Love Supreme, John Coltrane (recording, 1964) 281 60 Au Hasard du Balthasar, Robert Bresson (film, 1966) 285 61 Andrei Rublev, Andrei Tarkovsky (film, 1966) 290 62 Cancer Ward, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (novel, 1967) 295 63 At Folsom Prison, Johnny Cash (recording, 1968) 300 64 The Complete Stories, Flannery O'Connor (short stories, 1971) 305 65 Only Visiting This Planet, Larry Norman (recording, 1972) 309 66 Symphony no. 3, The Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, Henryk Górecki (classical music, 1976) 314 67 Dancing in the Dragon's Jaws, Bruce Cockburn (recording, 1979) 318 68 The Second Coming, Walker Percy (novel, 1980) 323 69 The Last Supper, Sadao Watanabe (print, 1981) 328 70 Godric, Frederick Buechner (novel, 1981) 333 71 Infidels, Bob Dylan (recording, 1983) 337 72 The Joshua Tree, U2 (recording, 1987) 342 73 Paradise Garden, Howard Finster (artistic assemblage, c. 1990) 347 74 The Four Holy Gospels, Makoto Fujimura (paintings, 2011) 351 75 The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick (film, 2011) 356 Acknowledgments 361 Notes 363 For Further Exploration: A Selected Bibliography 371Table of Contents