pp xi218 246x189mm May 1999 paperback
ISBN 0-7083-1475-9
'It is a work of considerable and varied scholarship, carefully constructed,
and as I have already remarked, beautifully produced by the University of Wales Press . .
. we are constantly confronted in his work with unexpected insights and unfamiliar
material. There is much here for which to be grateful, much which deserves to be pondered
. . . ' (Planet)
‘ . . .
an excellent study . . . ’ (The Banner of Truth)‘The book is handsomely produced and lavishly illustrated. . . a memorable exposition of the place of art in Nonconformist instruction.’ (Ecclesiastical History)
“The sheer diversity of the material is . . . exhilarating and exhausting . . . this book will open the eyes and minds of its many readers.” Welsh History Review
In this innovative and lavishly illustrated study John Harvey examines the visual expression of religious and spiritual concepts in Nonconformist Wales. He discusses his subject within a broad cultural context which includes fine art, architecture, preaching, hymnology and such intangible manifestations as visions.
The author argues that the Bible had a strong influence on the visual idiolect of Nonconformists during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and that it permeated their perception, interpretation and representation of life. This is perhaps most apparent in the imagery of hymns and sermon illustrations and in the vocabulary and phraseology of preachers, but its effect on Welsh visual culture was also profound and far-reaching and affected both the mode and idiom of religious visions as well as the exterior and interior features of the chapel.
John Harvey explores his subject with particular reference to the intertwined concepts of religion and mining in the south Wales coalfields. He examines the tradition of biblical identity and fusion as manifest in the visionary experiences of miners and their families since the 1904 revival: the architectural similarities between chapels, collieries and Old Testament places of worship, and sermon illustrations which derived spiritual meanings and lessons from the harsh realities of coal-mining. Latterly, this tradition is evident in the paintings of Nicholas Evans. Arguably, this principle of visualization whereby heavenly realities are clothed in tangible earthly garb, constitutes one of the most distinctive manifestations of Welsh visual culture.
John Harvey is Professor or Art and Head of the School of Art at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth. He is author of The Art of Piety: the visual culture of Welsh Nonconformity.