Art in the Service of Faith

Writing in the twelfth century, the French cleric, statesman, and one-time regent Abbot Suger (d. 1151) imagined faith as an experience shaped by the material things with which he surrounded himself. Artistic invention, craftsmanship, and the rarefied world of precious objects were, for him, stepping stones to higher contemplation. They called him away from external cares and allowed his thoughts to wander from the ‘slime of the earth’ toward the ‘purity of Heaven’. The more refined the work, the more powerfully it could lift the faithful toward God.

Modern ideas about the Middle Ages often portray the period as dark, primitive, or intellectually backward—a time caught between the achievements of the ancient world and the Renaissance. Suger’s words, however, bring us sharply to our senses. Here was a man who strongly supported the arts, encouraged artistic excellence, and valued beauty in the material world. He believed that art created in the service of faith could move people emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. Although Suger expressed these ideas more fully than most thinkers of his time, he was not unique. His way of thinking is vividly reflected in the extraordinary outpouring of creativity that medieval art still has the power to convey many centuries later. From gemstones to stained-glass windows, from the smallest goldsmith’s work to the largest cathedrals, all artistry was sacred—and perfection the goal.

This exhibition brings together more than thirty masterpieces of medieval art from the fields of painting, sculpture, goldsmith’s work, stained glass, and manuscript illumination, created by artisans working between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries. Together, they reveal the extraordinary aesthetic innovations reshaping Europe during this period and the remarkable range of materials mastered by artists whose skills rival—and at times surpass—those of any generation since.