The Art of Piety: The Visual Culture of Welsh Nonconformity
By John Harvey
University of Wales Press. 102 pages. £10.95
ISBN 0 7083 1298 5
Why was it 93 years before the celebrated statue of Daniel Rowlands at Llangeitho was erected? Was it theological objections to images? Lack of money? Lack of talent? Concentration on musical gifts? Or the thought that the same money could build another chapel? All these implied questions are dealt with in Professor's Harvey's book.
He challenges the widely held belief that Nonconformity stifled the visual arts in Wales. He presents the difference between what Calvin wrote and what was popularly believed. Reformation teaching prohibited the use of images in worship, but Calvin insisted that while pictorial art was inappropriate inside a church building art was a gift of God to be used to his glory. What use then did Welsh Nonconformity make of art in the service of religion?
