Joshua Commanding the Sun
to Stand Still by John Martin, 1840

  “Religion after the Age of Reason” is another important subject for artists during the Romantic age, especially with Christian themes and biblical stories represented in works like British artist John Flaxman’s “The Creation of the Heavens.” Flaxman’s 1790 ink on paper portrayal of a troupe of angels flanking a male diety soaring through the night sky is a slightly pagan interpretation during a century when artists questioned traditional views of faith. Yale University Art Gallery’s new exhibit entitled “The Critique of Reason” explores how artists interpret religion following the Enlightenment Age between 1760 and 1860.

  Among the works on display are John Martin’s 1840 painting of “Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still” that shows nature as a force acting upon man, and Eugene Delacroix’s 1837 painting of the Crucifixion presenting Jesus as both a mortal and a deity. Poet William Blake’s etchings from Dante’s Divine Comedy illustrating “The Circle of the Lustful” with figures writhing in sin is another example of artists reexamining their faith after the Enlightenment Age, Yale curators said. For more information about the exhibit, read the main article here.