Poetic of Divine Light Divine

¶ … Poetic of Divine Light

Divine Light

The concept of "divine light" can be regarded in terms of many areas of life. Particularly in these modern times, the concept of the divine has stretched and evolved to include a variety of principles, religions, and lifestyles. This makes "divine light" itself a difficult concept to define or focus. To shed some light on the topic, one might investigate for example the origin of the concept and how it integrated with social values and ideals of the time.

According to Robert Pasnau, the "divine light," or divine illumination, is perceived as a particularly Christian, concept, and distinctly Augustinian. This idea is based upon Christian medieval philosophy, and the prominent role the concept played in Augustine's theory of knowledge. While many believe this era to be the origin of the divine illumination concept, others trace the phrase as far back as ancient Greek philosophy, to later Greek traditions, neo-Platonism, and even medieval philosophies of Islam.

Specifically, the theory of divine illumination relates to the cognitive function of the human mind. As such, the mind requires supernatural assistance - divine light - in order to function to its full cognitive abilities. The "divine" is therefore related to the supernatural, in whatever form it took for the philosopher. For the ancient Greeks, for example, the divine would refer to their multi-theistic religious position, while for the Christian, divine illumination occurs through the Trinity of God. The "Light" refers to assistance in enhancing knowledge, or to knowledge itself. The individual on his or her own lives in the darkness of misconception, while the divine illumination provides access to knowledge like a light that is turned on.

A further element of this theory, according to Pasnau, is that divine illumination occurs only to complete some part of everyday human cognition, but not all of it; otherwise human beings would be like controlled puppets in the hands of the divine.

To therefore function fully as cognitive human beings, divine light is required, although human beings can partially function without it. Pasnau highlights the fact that this divine assistance is "special" in the sense that not all belief or all knowledge is explained as a result of divine illumination. Nonetheless, certain kinds of knowledge are achieved only with special divine assistance - divine light. While this form of divine light theory has been regarded as unlikely since the thirteenth century, it nonetheless still survives in certain forms today.

Many writers and artists for example regard the creative process as something that is almost magical. Some of these people even refer in not altogether jesting terms to their "muse."

This is also a form of "divine light" working together with the cognitive function to achieve a product that might not have been otherwise possible. Even in less artistic sectors, such as business, economy or medicine, "flash" insights often occur that appear to be from a higher intelligence beyond the ordinary cognitive function of the human being involved. While the distinctly Christian theory is therefore no longer acknowledged as such, the function that inspired the theory still is.

One might therefore say that the theory addressing the same concept has evolved with time, while the function itself remained constant. In the same way, the "divine light" ideal in architecture has evolved over time to achieve the desired spiritual effect. From ancient Greece to the diversity in society that we observe today, architecture is an art that evolves with the society in which it functions. It is required to adhere to the ideals and aesthetics of a specific social paradigm. This is what makes architecture such a valuable subject of study.

In terms of divine light, religious architecture seeks to address the issue in terms of the form worship takes during every period examined. The ideal of worship in ancient Greece for example would be much different from that in modern-day Europe. So is the concept of divine light. Social evolution, as will be seen, tends to be reflected in architectural evolution. Because architecture is such an enduring art form, this makes it a valuable study in terms of reflecting religious and social values via form and function.

II. Divine Light in Architecture

A. Greek Temples

In ancient Greek society, according to Odyssey, the role of the temple was somewhat different from religious buildings today. Whereas worshipers generally go to church to connect with each other and with God in congregational worship, the function of Greek temples were to house gods. Hence each temple was built for a specific god, with its form and function both devoted to the god in question. The focus was therefore not human comfort or worship, but rather the comfort of the god housed within the temple.

Because the gods, who were generally friendly, could also be volatile at whim, the aim was to make the temples as comfortable for them as possible. As such, temples were equipped with the most luxurious in interior design, a staff of servants and daily offerings of food and drink, along with a share of the harvest and profits.

An image of the goddess or god took the form of a sculpture in the center of the temple. The materials used for these varied from wood to stone, bronze and chryselephantine.

The ancient Greek temple was usually surrounded by the sacred temenos, and enclosure where the public was allowed. This temenos generally featured a spring, trees, or other natural element. It is only in this enclosure that the public was allowed to worship. The temple building itself was closed to the public, and only priests and priestesses could enter.

The only natural light feature usually allowed inside the temple was from the doorway through which the priests and priestesses passed. This symbolized the segregation of gods and goddesses from the public in general. The public was only allowed a small glimpse of the glory of the gods. This separation was later emphasized by the external colonnade, also referred to as the pteron. This pteron was meant to screen the image of the god from the outside world, but was transparent, so that a glimpse at least was still possible. The Greek temples were therefore mostly focused on the gods living within their walls. Divine light was symbolized by the vision of the entire temple, with the colonnade as the connecting factor between the human and divine.

B. Early Christian Architecture

Early Christian Architecture occurs in the vicinity of Rome and its associated cities, such as Byzantium. This architecture closely reflects what was also normally found in the Roman home of the time. The function of early Christian basilicas contrasted with those of the Greeks, as they were focused not only on the worshiper, but also on the needs of all human beings. The atrium, for example, occurred at the front of the building and served as a resting place for pilgrims and tradesmen. As such, light began to play a more prominent role within the building itself.

Santa Sabina is an example of this. The building consists of a nave with an aisle on each side. This is accompanied by a spacious apse. Very large windows are focused on flooding the nave with light, while the windowless aisles remained in darkness. There is a very clear symbolism associated with the interplay between light and darkness.

The light is of course symbolic of Christ as the light of the world. This ideal combines with the architectural function of providing a suitable character and aesthetic to the interior of the building. The aisles below, being in darkness, represents the world below, while the light on the nave provides a heavenly glow to the upper part of the church. This symbolizes the heavenly light, in the form of Christ, descending to meet humanity below. The transcendence and grace of God, to which humanity aspires, are expressed in this way. When viewed from the exterior, the large clerestory windows demonstrate that the building is symbolically a receptacle of divine light. In this tradition therefore, the ideal of light and its role in connecting humanity with the divine is much more prominent than in ancient Greece (talk about the statement regarding divine light perceived as a Christian concept).

C. Medieval Christian Churches

Stained glass art, invented long before medieval times, entered the church as part of the divine light ethic during the 12th century (History of Gothic Architecture). The pioneer of Gothic architecture, as it was known, was Abbot Suger. He felt that the mystic quality of light shining through stained glass was a perfect metaphor for divine light. As such, he felt that windows made of stained glass would provide an excellent conduit for a suitable interior atmosphere.

The initial symbolism, soon to be followed by many examples o the Gothic Cathedral in Europe was drawn from the Book of Revelations. The church represented the new Jerusalem, with the windows symbolic of jewels on the walls.

Specifically, the design of the windows themselves were also used to depict biblical scenes and hence enhance the religious experience of the divine light. The windows for example would depict a large image of a saint, with smaller images from his or her life at the bottom. In this way, the windows could be seen as a conduit of the divine light bathing the congregation within. More complex themes were incorporated for rose windows, including prophets, apostles saints and angels.

Another interesting component of the divine light brought to the citizenry in this way is that the society of the time was largely illiterate. Hence stained glass windows illuminated, so to speak, the message of the bible in visual terms. Not only scholars, therefore, but also children, the simple and the illiterate could access the various legends depicted in this way. The "divine light" takes on a more literal significance in this way, with the windows not only symbolizing, but literally illuminating the bible for those who could not access it by reading. Later, the colors themselves were also attached to symbolic meanings, further specifying the message of each window. The inside of these Gothic Cathedrals then became a type of sermon in itself.

So impressed was all who took part in this worship, that businesspeople and kings alike competed to donate the finest window. The human and divine truly connected in this way, in that the poor, simple and uneducated could appreciate the beauty of the biblical message more fully, and that the powerful and the rich were urged to part with large amounts of money for the prestige of donating such windows. It was therefore both a symbolic and literal interaction between the divine light and human cognition.

On a more aesthetic level, Suger further developed his theory of God to include the ideal of the stained glass window. God was seen as supernatural light itself. As such, he transformed everything on earth, both material and mortal, into its immaterial, immortal counterpart. This theory was the basis of all further Gothic church architecture. AS inspired by Romanesque architecture, ribbed vaulting and pointed arches were included in Gothic architecture particularly to emphasize and enhance the effect of the beautiful stained glass windows.

An example of Gothic architecture is the cathedral at Chartres. This cathedras is considered to be the first in the "High Gothic" style. Construction lasted from 1194 to 1224. Other examples include the Reims, Beauvais and Amiens cathedrals, each outdoing the other in the beauty of its divine light effects.

The Rayonnant style initially characterizing the Gothic style developed to become the Flamboyant style, in which decoration took precedence over all other effects, in the form of pinnacles and other decorative structures. This movement lasted from the end of the 13th century until the end of the middle ages. The style was also later used for more secular buildings.

In the Gothic style, the early Christian tradition of divine light is perpetuated to the ultimate in beauty. The addition of color to light, enhanced by architectural style makes this a period of great beauty and intricate meaning within the walls of the most glorious churches.

Baroque churches

Baroque churches once again made more use of symbolic than literal light. The symbolism of light as such was focused on ceiling decorations and art. The ideal behind this is to, like the basilicas of early Christian architecture, depict heaven and its glory in the space above the congregation, which represents the earth and its imperfection. Ceilings were therefore illuminated to display to best advantage the elaborate paintings depicting biblical and Christian scenes. As such, ceilings in effect replaced stained glass windows as the focus of beauty and illumination within the church building.

Like the later Gothic period, baroque architecture extended not only to churches, but also to living spaces. The homes of aristocratics and the ecclesiastical elite were for example also elaborately painted. The purpose behind this was therefore not only religious, but also secular. In addition to wanting to portray their piety, the rich and elite also aimed at displays of their education and wealth. Paintings in homes and palaces then often included scenes from Greek and Roman literature and myth.

In churches of course, ceiling art was aimed at displaying a glorious heavenly environment. This served not only an inspiring, but also a humbling purpose. The society of the time was very hierarchical not only in secular, but also in religious life. Church leaders therefore saw it as their duty to educate their parishes not only in biblical truth, but also in the importance of adhering to church hierarchy.

As such, the church ceiling was of a highly spiritual nature in both the visual and practical sense: it was the upward path to heaven, and while forcing the worshiper to look up, also depicted the importance of humility and the recognition of power and its importance. The use of light and color therefore occurred more through the painting art than through windows, although the ideal of divine light remains intact.

The document entitled, "Baroque ceilings in Italy"8, provides examples of three different ceilings decorated during the baroque period in Italy to show how color and divine light are depicted by this art. The first is a decoration by Giovanni Lanfranco, who used a technique referred to as di sotto in su, which means "from below up." The painting is created in such a way that it appears as if the flat surface of the ceiling is rising into heaven. Lanfranco's work is characterized by a greater immediacy than others of its kind, and he achieves a luminescent effect at the height of the decoration.

In the baroque style, the artist also uses a large amount of figures, including many angels helping the Virgin ascend to heaven within a wild swirl of clouds. Lanfranco however rejects the typical balanced group settings of the style for more naturalistic scenery.

Secondly, the Gran Salone, commissioned by Pope Urban VIIII, is typical of the way in which the secular and divine integrated during the Baroque period. Piety was effortless combined with pomp and self-importance. As such, the ceiling painted for the pope at his family home depicted both the importance of his family in society and the family's piety. In this way, once could also say that the heavenly and earthly met in the divine light portrayed by decorative ceiling paintings. Specifically, the Pope's ceiling depicts the family's crest at the center, with "divine Providence" gesturing towards it. The Pope's piety and virtue, along with his very important connections with the church, are depicted by figures of fate and time. Saving divine intervention and immortality is reflected by a crown of stars.

The third example is the 1684 creation of the ceiling fresco at the church of san Ignazio. Andrea Pozzo was commissioned for this task by the Jesuit order, of which he was a member. This is specifically interesting work in terms of divine light, as Pozzo uses the real windows to portray passageways into heaven itself. He does this by means of painted arches for each window, which gives the impression of the windows opening into heaven. In this way heavenly light is shed upon the earth, and earth is connected to heaven by means of the windows.

A further interesting aspect is the central figure, St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the order. Pozzo uses divine light directly around the Saint's head in order to depict his importance to the Jesuits. This signifies not only his sainthood, but also the fact that he reflects the divine light of illumination to the worshipers below. The four corners of the earth, Asia, Africa, America and Europe, are depicted on scrolled tablets and personified by four figures. This is intended to show the universal nature of Jesuit teaching.

Like the stained glass windows, each ceiling mentioned above has an educational and illuminating purpose, in itself manifesting and representing the divine light of knowledge. Like all the architectural representations through time, the ceilings also represent the concerns and ideals of the society during the era when they were created. The same is true for the architecture of modern churches.

Modern Churches

Modern architecture is particularly interesting because of the recognized quality of diversity in the social world. Like the previous eras, the ideals and paradigms of general society is reflected not only in secular buildings, but also in churches. This is particularly clear in the work of Tadao Ando, as will be seen. Le Corbusier, a predecessor of the ultramodern Ando, focused his religious buildings upon using the qualities of natural light in order to create a divine interior atmosphere. One such example is his "Chapel of our Lady of the Height," situated on a hill above the village of Ronchamp.

According to Simon Glynn, Le Corbusier's building, the "Chapel of our Lady of the Height," is meant to be a pilgrimage chapel, where the faithful could enter for religious comfort and fortification. The use of light, combined with architectural form, provides an interesting exterior and interior effect. From the exterior, the building's thick, curved walls and concrete roof gives the impression of strength, size and bulk. From the interior, a number of small windows, brightly painted, together with three light towers provide a dim, almost mystical sense of the divine. Visually, the building's interior therefore creates an atmosphere of the mystic, unknown quality of religion. On earth, human beings can only partially know the whole truth regarding God. What human beings do experience is a gift from heaven, like the light entering the chapel.

Further interior features include plain pews at the south side, curved walls and roof, with a floor that also curves towards the altar, to follow the natural shape of the hill. The east wall above the altar contains several small windows, with a larger one featuring the Madonna and Child. Another interesting feature as that this window also overlooks the outside altar, for use by the faithful making pilgrimages. This feature is reminiscent of the earlier-mentioned Greek temples, where the faithful is allowed to worship only outside the temple, with a stone image of a god or goddess overlooking them. The building is also a return to the ideal of the simple, but striking found in modernism and also reminiscent of ancient times. It contrasts strongly with the lavish spires and paintings decorating the interiors of for example baroque churches, and the purpose of this particular building is mainly religious.