| dc.description.abstract | In his work as an art historian, Hans Rookmaaker approaches art and culture from a reformed perspective. The research question asks what theological, philosophical, and aesthetic commitments contributed to Rookmaaker’s distinctive approach to art; the thesis argues that Rookmaaker’s approach to art is a synthesis of Dutch Calvinism and the Dutch Christian philosophy of Herman Dooyeweerd, which results in an integrative evaluation of art and culture from a Christian worldview. Following his conversion to Christianity and exposure to the work of Herman Dooyeweerd, Rookmaaker committed his life to helping people understand and evaluate art from a Christian perspective. He often worked apologetically, incorporating art in a defense of the Christian faith and the inherent value it affords humans created in the image of God. I establish Rookmaaker as a Reformed Christian within the Dutch Calvinist tradition and examine the theological and philosophical commitments that inform his Reformed approach to art. I illustrate his approach using a three-layered landscape diagram of his aesthetic, working primarily from recorded lectures and the six volumes of his Complete Works. The first part of the dissertation builds the foundation for the thesis and supports it with primary source material. I show that Rookmaaker worked from Reformed theological commitments in his work as an art historian. As a Reformed Christian, he demonstrated an enthusiastic concern to awaken people to the dangers and dehumanizing effects of Enlightenment philosophies. His Complete Works contain an array of examples that demonstrate his defense of the biblical view of human value in the visual arts, cultural commentary, and his refutation of Enlightenment philosophies. In the second part of the dissertation, I respond to critiques spanning from 1971 to 2024. Responses are given to scholars Nicholas Wolterstorff, James Romaine, Jeremy S. Begbie, William A. Dyrness, and Jonathan A. Anderson. These scholars suggest Rookmaaker’s approach is lacking in various areas, including his aesthetic theory, his Reformed theology, and his interpretation of modern art. I defend Rookmaaker’s work in each of these areas. Following engagements with Rookmaaker’s critics, I provide a landscape diagram as a visual aid to understand Rookmaaker’s approach to art and culture. The landscape consists of three “layers” corresponding to Reformed theology in the background, Dooyeweerdian philosophy in the middle ground, and his integrative evaluation of art in the foreground. Each of these areas is examined for its contribution to Rookmaaker’s approach. Rookmaaker’s aesthetic landscape uniquely orients art under an open sky, open to God’s revelation and redemption. After examining Rookmaaker’s reformed approach to art, the dissertation concludes by demonstrating how his work remains relevant and worthy of emulation. His defense of human value, worked out through his aesthetic landscape, is helpful for Christians in the twenty-first century as issues surrounding human value increase in number and complexity. As a Reformed Christian and art historian, Rookmaaker provides us with a creative and orthodox approach to art and culture, which should be recaptured and implemented. | en_US |
