Abstract sacred art – Visual iconography of the transcendent

Modern sacred art faces a fundamental question: How can the profound, metaphysical mysteries of faith and the intangible divine be represented using the material means of canvas and paint? For centuries, the communication of religious content in the West was based on mimesis—the realistic, figurative depiction of biblical scenes and saints. But the 20th and 21st centuries have radically broken with this visual language. Where the purely human form reaches its limits in grasping the metaphysical, the realm of pure abstraction opens up.

When we take this step from figuration to non-representational art in a spiritual context, an expanded visual expression of the sacred is revealed. This expression utilizes, on the one hand, abstract surfaces, colors, and structures, and on the other hand, the formative tools of Cubism with its constructive geometry—that is, the decomposition of reality into cubes, prisms, angular or curved surfaces, and tectonic lines. In this geometric abstraction, sacred iconography liberates itself from traditional figurative conventions and transforms from a narrative illustration into an invitation to transcendent contemplation.

The Christian roots of spiritual abstraction

The path to pure abstraction in Western modernism had philosophical roots from the very beginning and was, to a large extent, explicitly motivated by Christian beliefs. The pioneers of non-representational painting saw the detachment from the material object as the only way to make the purely spiritual visible.

Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944): As one of the founders of abstract painting, he understood artistic creation as a sacred service. In his programmatic essay "Concerning the Spiritual in Art," he described art as a service to the sacred. His early abstract color dynamics were interpretations of Christian eschatological themes such as the Apocalypse, the Last Judgment, and the Flood. Wassily Kandinsky's painting "All Saints II" was created in 1911. It is among his earliest works on the path to abstraction and exemplifies Kandinsky's transition from Expressionism to pure non-objectivity. The religious motifs are still recognizable in a veiled form, but they already dissolve into free dynamics of color and form.

Hilma af Klint (1862–1944): This Swedish pioneer painted purely abstractly as early as the beginning of the 20th century. She understood her geometric works as a direct spiritual imperative. Her major work, the "Paintings for the Temple," which she began in 1906, was conceived as a theosophical-anthroposophical meditation space and is considered today to be the first abstract body of work of Western modernism.

The work shown here (No. 1) by Hilma af Klint forms the chronological conclusion of this groundbreaking cycle.

Mark Rothko (1903–1970): In the USA, Rothko radicalized the abstract approach through color field painting. With the famous Rothko Chapel in Houston (Texas), he created a non-denominational, sacred space made of darkly shimmering, monumental canvases that eschew any traditional symbolism in order to achieve a profound, meditative effect.

Alfred Manessier (1911–1993): A leading figure in French Informel, Manessier found his way to Christian sacred art after a personal crisis in a Trappist monastery and a religious conversion. His luminous, lyrical-abstract paintings and stained-glass windows translate Catholic mysticism into pure color.

Georg Meistermann (1911–1990) shaped the German post-war sacred modernism by dissolving theological themes for numerous church windows and murals into fine, floating line and abstract color compositions.

Gerhard Richter (born 1932) demonstrated the meditative power of pure abstraction with his large window in Cologne Cathedral (2007). It consists of approximately 11,500 colored glass squares arranged in a random pattern. Instead of religious images, Richter a shimmering play of light, which is often interpreted in contemporary discourse as a symbolic space for experiencing the transcendent.

The connection between geometry and sacred lighting is also evident in Catalan Modernism. In his masterpiece, the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, ​​Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926) a formal fusion of geometry and light. While the church's exterior facades are characterized by an expressive, figurative narrative program, the interior reveals a turn towards abstract principles.

Inside, representational depictions of saints are largely omitted to allow the pure, modulated light of the colorful, abstract stained-glass windows to take center stage. These windows were primarily designed by the Catalan painter and glass artist Joan Vila-Grau (1932-2022) , who thus revived the intense mysticism of light found in earlier Gothic cathedrals in a contemporary style.

Cubism in sacred spaces

Purely emotional abstraction gains a structured order through the formal principles of Cubism. The breaking down of space into basic mathematical forms provides Christian art with a formal foundation for making the divine order visible.

Robert Delaunay's (1885–1941) early analytical-cubist exploration of Gothic architecture and the incoming light of the Parisian church of Saint-Séverin (1909) proved groundbreaking for modern sacred art. From 1912 onward, this evolved into a pure color and light painting style— Orphism . Fascinated by this interplay, he utilized the dynamics of the vaulted arches to break down the light on the canvas into its spectral components—a principle that profoundly influenced the mystical effect of incoming light in modern churches.

Lyonel Feininger (1871–1956) also created pictorial, crystalline-looking compositions at the intersection of Cubism and Expressionism. His famous, prismatically fragmented depictions of churches (such as the church in Gelmeroda) generate a dense, architectural atmosphere of light and show the church not as a rigid building, but as a vibrant interplay of light and form.

A rare fusion of Christian art and pure Cubism developed in the Czech Republic. Before the First World War, Prague was a center of architectural Cubism. The Czech avant-garde transferred the fragmentation of Cubist Canvas art directly into sacred spaces, for example, to the interior of the Hus Church in Pečky. It is considered a rare example of a church interior designed entirely in the Cubist style: altar, pulpit, pews, and chandeliers are all based on austere, angular surfaces.

This Czech tradition found its counterpart in the paintings of František Kupka (1871–1957) . Kupka, a pioneer of pure abstraction, created "Katedrála" (1912/13), a work often highlighted in the context of abstract art. He does not depict actual church walls, but rather breaks down Gothic architecture into vertical and diagonal lines and overlapping, prismatic planes of color. He rendered the soaring pillars and the rhythmic interplay of sacred stained-glass light in a purely abstract and geometric manner.

While Kupka thus moved within the realm of Orphism and pure light abstraction, Czech painters such as Emil Filla (1882-1953) and Bohumil Kubišta (1884-1918) with angular shifts in form on the canvas, which were closely related to Christian architecture.

Picasso's Passion Iconography and the Legacy of "Guernica"

A central point of reference for Christian Cubist painting is the work of Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) . Throughout his life, Picasso never created purely non-representational abstraction; he always emphasized: “There is no such thing as abstract art. One must always begin with something.” (Zervos 1935, p. 173). His religious and secular masterpieces are therefore always based on real, albeit extremely deformed, Cubist figures to depict underlying, existential themes.

In his explicitly sacred masterpiece "Crucifixion" (1930) , late Cubist, razor-sharp forms merge with a surreal-expressive figuration to create a dramatic resolution of the Passion narrative. Jesus on the cross, Mary Magdalene, and the soldiers casting dice are depicted with severely deformed bodies. This blend of Cubism and Surrealism portrays the Passion in a haunting and painful way.

Just seven years later, he incorporated Christian Passion iconography into his politically motivated work "Guernica" (1937). Although the painting is primarily considered a political manifesto, denouncing the brutal destruction of the Basque city, its composition reveals clear structural parallels to motifs of traditional Christian iconography. Picasso radically eschews all color, instead employing the grayscale tones of grisaille painting. This makes the Pietà on the left, where a screaming mother cradles her dead child, all the more powerful, while at the center of the horror, the dismembered soldier lying on the ground embodies martyrdom.

The original painting “Guernica” by Pablo Picasso (of which there are no public domain photos yet) hangs in the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid, Spain, and measures approximately 3.50 × 7.80 meters.

The combination of historical tragedy and abstract structure also formed the starting point for my acrylic painting "Guernica" and other abstract-figurative paintings.

In my interpretation of the Guernica theme, I sought a balance between expressive color and abstract geometric structure. While Picasso deliberately reduced the palette to documentary shades of gray, I worked intentionally with color contrasts to make the pain palpable. These color tensions concentrate as a blazing conflagration in the gates and windows of the central church building, while the surrounding composition remains shrouded in nocturnal darkness.

The relief-like structures and clear geometric arrangements divide the image with visual barriers and spaces. They compel the viewer's eye to emotionally perceive the suffering. The gaze is guided over the fighter jets formed at the top of the image, and down over the burning church and the admonishing crucifix to a dense, ash-colored structure, beneath which the rigidly fixed, relief-like silhouettes of the victims are visible: an anti-war image.

The Sacred Work of Prof. Dr. Michael Kastor

The focus on explicitly Christian themes became increasingly prominent in my own work from the beginning of the 21st century. This work is not intended as a historicizing imitation, but rather as an attempt to further develop the art-historical questions of modernism in the contemporary studio – a path I already outlined in my earlier essay on Constructive Cubism.

From 2004/05 onwards, when I devoted myself to a series of abstract, cubist head studies – the so-called “Heads” – a purely formal, artistic representation of heads, my perception of the composition changed when I viewed the last painting I created in this series: The geometric lines, the hard edges, and the cubist shadow areas of the painted head suddenly coalesced into a face of suffering dignity. That was the first painting in this sacred cycle. Further “JESUS” and “CHRISTOS” paintings followed, differing mainly in color.

An earlier series of 10 small-format "VIA CRUCIS"paintings was created in 2001. These depict the cross in various forms, using a wide range of colors and materials. The paintings offer the viewer ample space for personal contemplation and the Christian hope for transformation.

Conclusion: The sacred abstraction and geometry of faith

Christian abstract and abstracting art no longer merely illustrates the past, but makes spiritual themes immediately present. Cubism, with its geometric deformation, a new form of representation for this purpose. It combines the mathematical rigor of construction with the expressive power of color.

While Picasso always adhered to the object, his shattering of form nevertheless points the way: Abstraction itself, as a space of experience without images, conveys the incomprehensible by dissolving traditional symbols into light, forms and colors that lead the viewer into the sphere of the spiritual and meditative internalization.

Finally, let us hear from the renowned painter Markus Lüpertz (born 1941) . Lüpertz , who served as professor and rector of the prestigious Düsseldorf Art Academy from 1988 to 2009, significantly shaped post-war art through his expressive, powerful style, which moves between figuration and abstraction. For decades, the artist has dedicated himself intensively to sacred art and has designed numerous stained-glass windows in various historical churches.

Among his important works in public spaces are the stained-glass windows in St. Andrew's Church in Cologne, the Elisabeth cycle in St. Elisabeth's Church in Bamberg, and the Reformation window in the Market Church in Hanover. Lüpertz describes this glass art as a fascinating "painting with light," in which the artwork remains related to the liturgical space.

Although Lüpertz never wanted to be described as a classic “contemporary Christian artist” in the sense of a dogmatic classification—since he defends the absolute autonomy of art—his work is inextricably linked to his spiritual identity. He describes the essence of the artist as a divine instrument: “An artist has received talent from God, and with it, he has taken on the task of creating art” (Lüpertz 2015, p. 44). Elsewhere, he elaborates: “The artist is an exception. He is a companion sent by God to explain the world to humankind” (Lüpertz 2013, p. 45).

Literature sources

• Düchting, Hajo: How do I recognize? The art of cubism, Belser, Stuttgart 2007.
• Elger, Dietmar: Abstract Art, Taschen, Cologne 2017.
• Archdiocese of Freiburg (ed.): Michael Kastor – Christos, in: Catalogue for the traveling exhibition "Zuwendung – barmherzig-sein-konkret" (Compassion – Being Merciful – Concretely), art exhibition from autumn 2025 to summer 2026, Hegne – Mosbach – Emmendingen – Freiburg, 2025, p. 38.
• Imdahl, Max: Picasso's Guernica – An Art Monograph, Insel Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1985.
• Kandinsky, Wassily: Concerning the Spiritual in Art, 10th edition, Benteli, Bern 1980.
• Kastor, Michael: Constructive Cubism – Synthesis of Structure and Intuition, in: Kunstplaza , July 16, 2026, online at: www.kunstplaza.de/kuenstler/constructive-cubism-synthesis/kunstplaza(accessed on July 28, 2026).
• Lamarová, Milena et al. (eds.): Czech Cubism – Architecture and Design 1910 – 1925, Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein 1991.
• Lüpertz, Markus: “The artist is not a human being”, in: Handelsblatt, No. 191 (October 4, 2015), p. 44 (online, accessed July 20, 2026).
• Lüpertz, Markus: The artist is an exception, in: art – The art magazine, No. 11, November 2013, pp. 42–49.
• Rodriguez y Romero, Joachim: Pablo Picasso: Master of Cubism – Biography, Work, Life, in: Kunstplaza Magazine, online at: www.kunstplaza.de/kuenstler/pablo-picasso/kunstplaza(accessed on 18.07.2026)
• Spieler, Reinhard / Auer, Barbara (eds.): Against all reason: Surrealism Paris – Prague, on the occasion of the exhibition at the Wilhelm-Hack-Museum and Kunstverein Ludwigshafen, Belser, Stuttgart 2009.
• Zervos, Christian: Conversation with Picasso, in: Cahiers d'Art, Vol. 10, No. 7-10, Paris 1935, pp. 173-178.

About the author and artist

Prof. Dr. Michael Kastor – Professor Emeritus, painter, musician, author.

Michael Kastor, born in 1958, explores the visual art of the sacred at the intersection of abstraction and geometry. He combines art historical analysis with the creation of his own sacred iconography. His texts and paintings bridge the gap between the Christian avant-garde of modernism and a contemporary mysticism of light and color influenced by constructive cubism.