Kim Ki’chang and the Western Aesthetics of Religious Art

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15584/setde.2026.19.4

Keywords:

Unbo, Korean art in the 20th century, aesthetics, Hans von Balthasar, André Malraux

Abstract

The Korean artist Kim Ki-chang (1914-2001) and his work can be understood in the context of East-West transcultural interchange. As such, this article examines the artist’s The Life of Jesus series as an instance of Eastern art that can be fruitfully understood through various ideas from the Western philosophical tradition. It asks to what extent Kim Ki-chang’s religious artworks speak to concepts such as sacrality, belief, knowledge, humanity, and the beautiful? The discussion first situates The Life of Jesus series within the art historical canon. It then engages various religious and theoretical concepts in order to understand how those ideas intersect with the paintings within the series, both individually and as a whole. The essay closes by speculating on how their aesthetic impact speaks to humanity’s ongoing quest to understand itself through divine revelation.

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Author Biography

Robert E. Gordon, University of Arizona, USA

Robert Edward Gordon, Ph.D., teaches art, philosophy and culture in the College of Fine Arts at the University of Arizona. He is the author of Buddhist Architecture in America: Building for Enlightenment (Routledge, 2023) and The Necessity of Living Happy and Free (Ethics International Press, 2026). His work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Space and Culture, Social Philosophy & Policy, Philosophy and Realistic Reflection, and elsewhere.

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Published

2026-10-15

How to Cite

Gordon, R. E. (2026). Kim Ki’chang and the Western Aesthetics of Religious Art. Sacrum et Decorum. Materials and Studies on the History of Sacred Art, (19), 113–136. https://doi.org/10.15584/setde.2026.19.4

Issue

No. 19 (2026)

Section

STUDIES

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Copyright (c) 2026 Robert E. Gordon

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