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Throughout different time periods and spanning continents, artists have devised techniques through which they may convey specific spiritual messages with the purpose of instructing the faithful.  This is often accomplished through a reliance on commonly understood symbols that allude to religious stories or sacraments.  By pictorially recreating sacred scenes the artist has the ability to manipulate the emphasis of the parable in a way that is congruent with contemporary ideals important to their respective religion.  Two works demonstrating this are Rogier van der Weyden’s Alter of the Seven Sacraments and an early 3^rd/late 2^nd Century stupa called Scenes from the Life of Buddha.  Though they are from vastly different eras and sections of the world, both works clearly use iconography already fixated in their cultures to instruct and pass on holy messages.

Rogier van der Weyden’s Alter of the Seven Sacraments is a complex image that uses several methods in relating the sacraments and the Passion to the Church’s laity.  The work, a triptych, superimposes the scene of Christ’s crucifixion onto the everyday scenes of Christian worship.  The physical presence of Jesus on the cross, surrounded by worshippers seemingly unaware of this, accomplishes two things.  Firstly, it acts as “reportage,” or the illusion that the work comes from a firsthand account of the crucifixion.  It also modernizes it, making it more relatable.  The holy figures are in Flemish clothing and are in the center of a clearly European church.   The viewer’s eye is even directed toward the center figure of Christ above any other image; the figures gesture in his direction and the pillars along the cathedral are parallel to the cross.  The panel containing the Passion is considerably more filled with natural light from the church’s windows then the adjoining panels, which look bleak in comparison.  Van der Weyden also took great pains to demonstrate linear perspective and the illusion of space; the floor is elaborately tiled and the ceiling’s overlapping arches rescind into the backdrop without the common appearance of flatness displayed in many contemporary works.  Including these embellishes, though they have nothing to do with the story of Christ, adds to the believability of the painting.  It gives the impression that the artist was present at Calvary and is not simply giving a vague or broad idea of what might have happened.  Also crucial in the placing of the crucifixion in the center of the cathedral is its relation to the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation.  Though the exact date of the triptych is unknown, it was most likely painted before 1450, only about 70 years before the Protestant Reformation and the clash between transubstantiation and consubstantiation.  In the van der Weyden, a priest can be seen in the act of presenting the Eucharist behind the central figures.  This could be an indication as to why the surrounding figures of the church take no notice of the crucifixion; it says to the viewer that though Christ cannot be seen during transubstantiation, he is still very much physically there.

The Altar of the Seven Sacraments extensively makes use of common religious iconography that would be familiar to even the most infrequent of church-goers.  Van der Weyden includes typical imagery, like angels presenting the sacraments and the arma christi, the “weapons of Christ.”  Accompanying scenes of each sacrament is an angel displaying a banner about the holy act.  This is directly instructional to the viewer, whereas the central figures in the crucifixion are more useful as evidence of the corporeal nature of transubstantiation.  From left to right, the colors of the angels’ robes darken; at birth the robes are white, symbolizing innocence or beginning, but slowly turn to darker shades as the sacraments progress with life.  The Last Rites are, of course, black.  Characteristic of the Catholic Church, this acts as a memento mori; it reminds the viewer of the inevitability of their death but it also instructs them on how best they might live in order to attain eternal life with God.  Also meant to advise the faithful on how best to live in a manner pleasing to God are the arma christi.  In “The Wound in Christ’s Side and the Instruments of the Passion: Gendered Experience and Response,” Flora Lewis writes that the arma christi “epitomize the desire to encompass and anatomize the Passion.”  Present in the Altar of the Seven Sacraments are the cross, the nails driven into Christ, the wounds of Christ, the crown of thorns, and arguably the pillars which Jesus was tied to while being flagellated.  As “weapons,” the arma christi act as principles with which followers of Christ can defeat Satan in the struggle over their sponsa, or soul.  These are particularly pertinent to the Altar of the Seven Sacraments because they, like transubstantiation, emphasize the physical nature of the Christian doctrine.  The arma christi evoke the brutality of the torture and subsequent execution of Christ while reminding the viewer of their fate in the afterlife if they do not follow Christian teaching, made all the more relevant by the juxtaposing of the life-cycle representing angels.  The Altar of the Seven Sacraments uses various symbols pervasive throughout European Christian society to underscore the importance of literal Church doctrine, like transubstantiation, and the need to follow Christian teaching, as seen in the arma christi.

Similar to the Altar of the Seven Sacraments, Buddhist art also used familiar imagery to galvanize the faithful.  The late 2^nd/early 3^rd Century stupa from either Pakistan or Afghanistan, Scenes from the Life of Buddha, shows the same sacrosanct duo as the van der Weyden: familiar iconography coupled with the purpose of instruction.

Though the Buddhist work does not have the advantage of color like the van der Weyden and was created in a time and place foreign to linear perspective, it does find methods through which religious stories and their accompanying lessons can be passed.  Like the arma christi, the Buddhist stupa has various symbols that denote religious life as well as allusions to the central religious figure, in this case Buddha.  One of these symbols is the urna, or forehead mole which marks a level of spiritual insight, like a third eye.  Another physical characteristic of the Buddha is the ushnisha, or the bump on the top of his head that is often mistaken for hair.  It is meant to resemble an adage to the brain, a sign of Buddha’s unique amount of knowledge.  Like the representations of Christ’s torture and execution, these images are very bodily and connected with the religious figure.  They serve to remind the faithful, along with the Buddha’s inward gaze and the empty space between him and the demons tempting him, that spiritual enlightenment comes from within.

Important in this stupa are Buddha’s gestures.  According to Vidya Dehejia, early Buddhist art places a strong emphasis on action versus inaction.  Buddha is making calm gestures while seated but the demons surrounding him thrust violent gestures toward him.  Buddha signals to the Earth Goddess that he is about to attain enlightenment by making the bhumisparsha mudra, or “earth touching gesture.”  His arms are lowered in contrast to the raised arms of the demons.  The same can be said of the facial expressions in the stupa; the demons’ faces are twisted into rictuses of anger with eyes all pointed directly at Buddha.  Buddha, however, is stoic and faces the viewer, possibly a reminder of what the Buddhist should concentrate on.  Also notable is the difference between Buddha’s possessions and those of the demons and how each makes use of them.  Buddha scarcely has any items, only a simple robe lacking any ornament.  His items are based on necessity.  The demons on his peripheral have more elaborate clothing and some have headdresses; they also brandish weapons and ride horses.  To a follower of Buddhism, the combination of violence and material possessions could be seen as directly in line with Buddhist teaching.  Though more subtle then the van der Weyden, Scenes from the Life of Buddha instructs its audience through centrality and unity; it puts the religious prophet at the center of the teaching and encompasses symbols and gestures that reflect their teachings.

Spirituality in art finds methods through which to pass on a message because its strength lies in its need to serve a purpose.  For the religious, a work of art can be spiritually inspiring as well as instructional.  Culturally pervasive iconography indicates to the viewer the purpose of the work and the artist has the ability to interpret how it is presented in any way they wish.  Symbols in works demonstrate an acknowledged and established understanding of doctrine which gives unity to the art pertaining to that religion.  Understanding symbols along with the artist’s interpretation is crucial in understanding the work of art.