Catholic Art in the 21st century

The art of Catholic illumination and illustration is a rare thing in this day and age; gone are the rich symbolic engravings and drawings that used to adorn our Missals... but there is yet hope for a revival when young talented Catholic artists like Daniel Mitsui are around. Do check out his work here and especially his latest drawings which include one of St Thomas Aquinas. The attention to detail and Catholic symbolism and artistic tradition in his work is unrivalled. It would be wonderful to have him do more Dominican art, such as our Lady giving the Rosary to St Dominic and see how he interprets that age-old scene! Another talent whose work I very much admire is Matt Alderman, who is first and foremost an architect from the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture. The realization of any of his ecclesiastical projects would be an enrichment to the Church's sacred treasury of art. However, he also has been doing some wonderful pen and ink iconography which is well worth a look... and somewhat more affordable! Perhaps one day the work of these and other Catholic artists will grace the pages of our Missals as devotional and catechetical aids...