Sacred Art & Music, HOS-MEN
Faith has inspired some of humanityâs most moving creative work, from icons and architecture to hymns and chant. Explore art and music made for worship, devotion, and the expression of the sacred.
Sacred Art & Music Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Hosanna
Hosanna, in modern speech and liturgical usage, a cry of praise to God. It has acquired this meaning through the......
Huber, Wolf
Wolf Huber was an Austrian painter, draftsman, and printmaker who was one of the principal artists associated with......
Humfrey, Pelham
Pelham Humfrey was an English composer and lutenist, especially admired for his anthems and sacred solo songs.......
Hunt, William Holman
William Holman Hunt was a British artist and prominent member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. His style is characterized......
hymn
hymn, (from Greek hymnos, âsong of praiseâ), strictly, a song used in Christian worship, usually sung by the congregation......
Icon
Icon, in Eastern Christian tradition, a representation of sacred personages or events in mural painting, mosaic,......
Idelsohn, Abraham Zevi
Abraham Zevi Idelsohn was a Jewish cantor, composer, founder of the modern study of the history of Jewish music,......
Ingemann, Bernhard Severin
Bernhard Severin Ingemann was a historical novelist and poet whose works glorifying Denmarkâs medieval past were......
Isaac, Heinrich
Heinrich Isaac was one of the three leading composers (with Jakob Obrecht and Josquin des Prez) of the Flemish......
Isham, John
John Isham was an English composer and organist. Educated at Merton College, Oxford, he went to London and became......
isicathamiya
isicathamiya, a type of secular a cappella choral singing developed in South Africa by migrant Zulu communities.......
Islamic architecture
Islamic architecture, building traditions of Muslim populations of the Middle East and elsewhere from the 7th century......
Islamic arts
Islamic arts, literary, performing, and visual arts of the vast populations of the Islamic world from the 7th century......
- Introduction
- Poetry, Calligraphy, Architecture
- Literature, West, Exchange
- Imagery, Calligraphy, Architecture
- Poetry, Prose, Calligraphy
- Abbasids, Calligraphy, Architecture
- Literary Prose, Development, Culture
- Averroes, Avicenna, Philosophy
- Persian, Turkish, Poetry
- Mystical Poetry, Sufism, Rumi
- Turkish Literature
- Poetry, Prose, Calligraphy
- Decentralization, Literatures, Cultures
- Fuzuli, Baghdad, Poetry
- Turkish Literature, Poetry, Calligraphy
- Modern Period, Architecture, Calligraphy
- Study, Evaluation, Culture
- Music, Instruments, Genres
- Music, Poetry, Instruments
- Music History, Instruments, Genres
- Umayyad, Abbasid, Music
- Dance, Theatre, Performance
- Dervish Dancing
- Taziyyah, Passion Plays
- Arab Countries, Architecture, Calligraphy
- Calligraphy, Architecture, Ceramics
- Mosques, Architecture, Calligraphy
- Umayyad, Abbasid, Dynasties
- Mosques, Architecture, Decoration
- Architecture, Mosques, Palaces
- Architecture, Decoration, Mosaics
- Middle East, Architecture, Calligraphy
- Seljuq, Architecture, Calligraphy
- Iraq, Syria, Anatolia
- Moorish, Architecture, Decoration
- Mongol, Iran, Timurid
- Ottoman, Architecture, Calligraphy
- Safavid, Persian, Architecture
- European Influence, Contemporary Trends
Jacopo della Quercia
Jacopo della Quercia was one of the most original Italian sculptors of the early 15th century. His innovative work......
Jacquet de la Guerre, Elisabeth-Claude
Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre was a French composer, harpsichordist, and organist, who was the first woman......
JanĂĄÄek, LeoĆĄ
LeoĆĄ JanĂĄÄek was a composer, one of the most important exponents of musical nationalism of the 20th century. JanĂĄÄek......
Jefferson, Blind Lemon
Blind Lemon Jefferson was an American country blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter, one of the earliest folk-blues......
Jnanadeva
Jnanadeva was a mystical poet-saint of Maharashtra and composer of the Bhavarthadipika (popularly known as the......
Jochumsson, MatthĂas
MatthĂas Jochumsson was an Icelandic poet, translator, journalist, dramatist, and editor whose versatility, intellectual......
Johansson, Lars
Lars Johansson was a Swedish lyric poet, author of some of the most powerful poems of the Baroque period in Swedish......
Johnson, James Weldon
James Weldon Johnson was a poet, diplomat, and anthologist of black culture. Trained in music and other subjects......
Joos van Cleve
Joos van Cleve was a Netherlandish painter known for his portraits of royalty and his religious paintings. He is......
Josquin des Prez
Josquin des Prez was one of the greatest composers of Renaissance Europe. Josquinâs early life has been the subject......
Jouvenet, Jean
Jean Jouvenet was a French Baroque painter remembered for his religious worksâe.g., The Miraculous Draught of the......
Justus of Ghent
Justus of Ghent was a Netherlandish painter who has been identified with Joos van Wassenhove, a master of the paintersâ......
JĂ€rnefelt, Armas
Armas JĂ€rnefelt was a composer and conductor who introduced Richard Wagnerâs operas into Finland and who is known......
JĆchĆ
JĆchĆ was a great Japanese Buddhist sculptor who developed and perfected so-called kiyosehĆ, or joined-wood techniques.......
kanĆn
kanĆn, one of the main forms of Byzantine liturgical office; it consists of nine odes, based on the nine biblical......
Keble, John
John Keble was an Anglican priest, theologian, and poet who originated and helped lead the Oxford Movement (q.v.),......
Kempeneer, Pieter de
Pieter de Kempeneer was a Flemish religious painter and designer of tapestries, chiefly active in Sevilla, Spain,......
Ken, Thomas
Thomas Ken was an Anglican bishop, hymn writer, royal chaplain to Charles II of England, and one of seven bishops......
Kerll, Johann Caspar von
Johann Caspar von Kerll was an organist and leading master of the middle-Baroque generation of south-German Catholic......
Khan, Nusrat Fateh Ali
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was a Pakistani singer who is considered one of the greatest performers of qawwali, a Sufi......
Kichizan
Kichizan was the last major professional painter of Buddhist iconography in Japan. He was a priest, associated......
Kingo, Thomas
Thomas Kingo was a clergyman and poet whose works are considered the high point of Danish Baroque poetry. Kingoâs......
KodĂĄly, ZoltĂĄn
ZoltĂĄn KodĂĄly was a prominent composer and authority on Hungarian folk music. He was also important as an educator......
kontakion
kontakion, first important Byzantine poetic form, significant in early Byzantine liturgical music. The kontakion......
Kraft, Adam
Adam Kraft was a sculptor of the NĂŒrnberg school who introduced restraint into German late Gothic sculpture. Nothing......
Krieger, Johann Philipp
Johann Philipp Krieger was a German composer known especially for his church cantatas, fugues, and keyboard suites.......
Kuhnau, Johann
Johann Kuhnau was a German composer of church cantatas and early keyboard sonatas. Kuhnau studied music from boyhood......
Kuratsukuri Tori
Kuratsukuri Tori was the first great Japanese sculptor of the Asuka period (552â645). Tori belonged to the hereditary......
KĆ«kai
KĆ«kai was one of the best-known and most-beloved Buddhist saints in Japan, founder of the Shingon (âTrue Wordâ)......
La Rue, Pierre de
Pierre de La Rue was a composer in the Flemish, or Netherlandish, style that dominated Renaissance music, known......
La Tour, Georges de
Georges de La Tour was a painter, mostly of candlelit subjects, who was well known in his own time but then forgotten......
Landstad, Magnus Brostrup
Magnus Brostrup Landstad was a pastor and poet who published the first collection of authentic Norwegian traditional......
Lasso, Orlando di
Orlando di Lasso was a Flemish composer whose music stands at the apex of the Franco-Netherlandish style that dominated......
Lastman, Pieter
Pieter Lastman was a Dutch painter of biblical and mythological scenes in antique landscapes who had a strong influence......
Le Jeune, Claude
Claude Le Jeune was a French composer of the late Renaissance, known for his psalm settings and for his significant......
Le Sueur, Eustache
Eustache Le Sueur was a painter known for his religious pictures in the style of the French classical Baroque.......
Legrenzi, Giovanni
Giovanni Legrenzi was an Italian composer, one of the greatest of the Venetian Baroque. His trio sonatas are among......
Legros, Alphonse
Alphonse Legros was a French-born British painter, etcher, and sculptor, now remembered chiefly for his graphics......
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian painter, draftsman, sculptor, architect, and engineer whose skill and intelligence,......
Leonardo da Vinciâs parachute
Leonardo da Vinci discussed the parachute in a notebook entry now contained in the Codex Atlanticus. Although it......
Lesueur, Jean-François
Jean-François Lesueur was a composer of religious and dramatic works who helped to transform French musical taste......
Lewandowski, Louis
Louis Lewandowski was a Jewish cantor, chorus conductor, and composer of synagogue music. By the age of 12 Lewandowski......
Li Gonglin
Li Gonglin was one of the most lavishly praised Chinese connoisseurs and painters in a circle of scholar-officials......
Liberale da Verona
Liberale da Verona was an early Renaissance artist, one of the finest Italian illuminators of his time. Liberaleâs......
Lift Every Voice and Sing
Lift Every Voice and Sing, hymn composed by the American writer and activist James Weldon Johnson and his younger......
Lippi, Filippino
Filippino Lippi was an early Renaissance painter of the Florentine school whose works influenced the Tuscan Mannerists......
Lippi, Fra Filippo
Fra Filippo Lippi was a Florentine painter in the second generation of Renaissance artists. While exhibiting the......
Liszt, Franz
Franz Liszt was a Hungarian piano virtuoso and composer. Among his many notable compositions are his 12 symphonic......
liturgical music
liturgical music, music written for performance in a religious rite of worship. The term is most commonly associated......
Lochner, Stefan
Stefan Lochner was a late Gothic painter, considered to be the greatest representative of the school of Cologne.......
Locke, Matthew
Matthew Locke was a leading English composer for the stage in the period before Henry Purcell. By 1661 Locke had......
Lorenzetti, Ambrogio
Ambrogio Lorenzetti was an Italian artist who ranks in importance with the greatest of the Italian Sienese painters,......
Lorenzetti, Pietro
Pietro Lorenzetti was an Italian Gothic painter of the Sienese school who, with his brother Ambrogio, was the principal......
Lorenzo Monaco
Lorenzo Monaco was an artist who was the last great exponent of late Gothic painting in what is now Italy. Lorenzo......
Lotto, Lorenzo
Lorenzo Lotto was a late Renaissance Italian painter known for his perceptive portraits and mystical paintings......
Lucas van Leyden
Lucas van Leyden was a northern Renaissance painter and one of the greatest engravers of his time. Lucas was first......
Luini, Bernardino
Bernardino Luini was a Renaissance painter of Lombardy, best known for his mythological and religious frescoes.......
Lully, Jean-Baptiste
Jean-Baptiste Lully was an Italian-born French court and operatic composer who from 1662 completely controlled......
Luria, Isaac ben Solomon
Isaac ben Solomon Luria was the eponymous founder of the Lurianic school of Kabbala (Jewish esoteric mysticism).......
Luther, Martin
Martin Luther was a German theologian and religious reformer who was the catalyst of the 16th-century Protestant......
LĂ©onin
LĂ©onin was the leading liturgical composer of his generation, associated with the Notre Dame, or Parisian, school......
Machaut, Guillaume de
Guillaume de Machaut was a French poet and musician, greatly admired by contemporaries as a master of French versification......
Mackenzie, Sir Alexander Campbell
Sir Alexander Campbell Mackenzie was a Scottish composer who, with Sir Hubert Parry and Sir Charles Stanford, was......
Madonna
Madonna, in Christian art, depiction of the Virgin Mary; the term is usually restricted to those representations......
Magnasco, Alessandro
Alessandro Magnasco was an Italian painter of the late Baroque period distinguished for his landscapes and genre......
Magnificat
Magnificat, in Christianity, the hymn of praise by Mary, the mother of Jesus, found in the Gospel According to......
Mahler, Gustav
Gustav Mahler was an Austrian Jewish composer and conductor, noted for his 10 symphonies and various songs with......
Mantegna, Andrea
Andrea Mantegna was a painter and engraver, the first fully Renaissance artist of northern Italy. His best known......
Manuel, Niklaus
Niklaus Manuel was a painter, soldier, writer, and statesman, and a notable Swiss representative of the ideas of......
Maratta, Carlo
Carlo Maratta was one of the leading painters of the Roman school in the later 17th century and one of the last......
Marcello, Benedetto
Benedetto Marcello was an Italian composer and writer, especially remembered for two works: the satirical pamphlet......
Marenzio, Luca
Luca Marenzio was a composer whose madrigals are considered to be among the finest examples of Italian madrigals......
Markish, Peretz
Peretz Markish was a Soviet Yiddish poet and novelist whose work extols Soviet Russia and mourns the destruction......
Martini, Simone
Simone Martini was an important exponent of Gothic painting who did more than any other artist to spread the influence......
Masaccio
Masaccio was an important Florentine painter of the Early Renaissance whose frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel of......
Masolino
Masolino was a painter who achieved a compromise between the International Gothic manner and the advanced early......
Mason, Lowell
Lowell Mason was a hymn composer, music publisher, and one of the founders of public-school music education in......
mass
mass, in music, the setting, either polyphonic or in plainchant, of the liturgy of the Eucharist. The term most......
Massys, Quentin
Quentin Massys was a Flemish artist, the first important painter of the Antwerp school. Trained as a blacksmith......
Master E.S.
Master E.S. was an unidentified late Gothic German goldsmith and engraver who signed many of his engravings with......
McClurkin, Donnie
Donnie McClurkin is an American gospel music singer and pastor who rose to fame in the early 1990s. McClurkin had......
Memling, Hans
Hans Memling was a leading South Netherlandish painter of the Bruges school during the period of the cityâs political......
Mena, Pedro de
Pedro de Mena was a Spanish sculptor who created many statues and busts of polychromed wood for churches in Spain......
Mendelssohn, Fanny
Fanny Mendelssohn was a German pianist and composer, the eldest sister and confidante of the composer Felix Mendelssohn.......
Mendelssohn, Felix
Felix Mendelssohn was a German composer, pianist, musical conductor, and teacher, one of the most-celebrated figures......
Mengs, Anton Raphael
Anton Raphael Mengs was a Bohemian painter who was perhaps the leading artist of early Neoclassicism. Mengs studied......
Mennin, Peter
Peter Mennin was an American composer and educator best known for his symphonic works written in a conservative......