Ralf van Bühren (born 3 February 1962) is a German

art historian Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today, ...

architectural historian An architectural historian is a person who studies and writes about the history of architecture, and is regarded as an authority on it. Professional requirements As many architectural historians are employed at universities and other facilities ...

church historian Church Historian and Recorder (usually shortened to Church Historian) is a priesthood calling in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The role of the Church Historian and Recorder is to keep an accurate and comprehensive record of th ...

, and theologian, who teaches at the Pontifical University of Santa Croce in Rome. His

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today, ...

lectures are open to students of US universities with campus in Rome. His research and teaching specialize on the History of

Christian Art Christian art is sacred art which uses subjects, themes, and imagery from Christianity. Most Christian groups use or have used art to some extent, including early Christian art and architecture and Christian media. Images of Jesus and narrati ...

and

Architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

in general, as well as on

Visual Studies Visual culture is the aspect of culture expressed in visual images. Many academic fields study this subject, including cultural studies, art history, critical theory, philosophy, media studies, Deaf Studies, and anthropology. The field of vi ...

, on the

rhetoric Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate par ...

s and visual communication of art, on the liturgical space after the

Second Council of Nicaea The Second Council of Nicaea is recognized as the last of the first seven ecumenical councils by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. In addition, it is also recognized as such by the Old Catholics, the Anglican Communion, an ...

(787), the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described a ...

(1545‒1563) and the

Vatican Council II The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

(1962‒1965), on

Religious Tourism Religious tourism, spiritual tourism, sacred tourism, or faith tourism, is a type of tourism with two main subtypes: pilgrimage, meaning travel for religious or spiritual purposes, and the viewing of religious monuments and artefacts, a branch of ...

, and on the pastoral concern for contemporary artists in particular.

Early career

Ralf van Bühren was born in

Bad Kreuznach Bad Kreuznach () is a town in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a spa town, most well known for its medieval bridge dating from around 1300, the Alte Nahebrücke, which is one of the few remaining bridges in t ...

. At the Max-Planck-Gymnasium in

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

, he finished his secondary school education in 1982. Between 1984 and 1991 van Bühren studied

Art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today, ...

at the

University of Trier The University of Trier (german: Universität Trier), in the German city of Trier, was founded in 1473. Closed in 1798 by order of the then French administration in Trier, the university was re-established in 1970 after a hiatus of some 172 y ...

and the

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...

. In Munich in 1988 he converted to the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. In 1994 he received the PhD in

at the

University of Cologne The University of Cologne (german: Universität zu Köln) is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in the year 1388 and is one of the most prestigious and research intensive universities in Germany. It was the sixth university to ...

. His dissertation was published in 1998 as ''The works of mercy in art from the 12th to the 18th centuries. Iconographic changes caused by the early modern reception of rhetorics''. The study explores art theory and rhetorics as driving forces for the persuasive mode in early modern art. Between 1992 and 1995 van Bühren worked as pedagogical assistant in the ''Museumsdienst Köln'' at the Wallraf-Richartz Museum and

Museum Ludwig Museum Ludwig, located in Cologne, Germany, houses a collection of modern art. It includes works from Pop Art, Abstract and Surrealism, and has one of the largest Picasso collections in Europe. It holds many works by Andy Warhol and Roy Lic ...

in Cologne, in the data processing service of the ''Bildarchiv Foto Marburg'', and as freelance collaborator in the ''Domforum Köln'' at the

Cologne Cathedral Cologne Cathedral (german: Kölner Dom, officially ', English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a Catholic cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archdiocese ...

and the romanesque churches of Cologne. From 1996 to 1998 he was chief copy Editor at the German publishing house ''Verlag Schnell & Steiner'' in

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the ...

, whose founders (Hugo Schnell, Johannes Steiner) in 1934 invented the small-sized type of art guidebooks ("Kleine Kunstführer"), which today are produced million times. In 2006 van Bühren was awarded the doctorate degree in Theology at the Pontifical University of Santa Croce in Rome. The dissertation he published in 2008 in the series ''Konziliengeschichte'' (ed. by Walter Brandmüller) as ''Art and Church in the 20th century. The reception of the Second Vatican Council''. The prologue has written Friedhelm Hofmann, Bishop of Würzburg and at that time a member of the

Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church The Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church () was an institution within the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church that presided over the guardianship of the historical and artistic patrimony of the entire Church - that is to sa ...

as well as of the Commission for Science and Culture of the

German Bishops' Conference The German Bishops' Conference (german: Deutsche Bischofskonferenz) is the episcopal conference of the bishops of the Roman Catholic dioceses in Germany. Members include diocesan bishops, coadjutors, auxiliary bishops, and diocesan administrato ...

Academic work

Since 2006 van Bühren is teaching

Art History Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today, ...

as associate professor at the Pontifical University of Santa Croce in Rome. The focus of his research and his lectures at the School of Church Communications is on ''Art and Architecture as Communication Media'', at the School of Theology on ''Liturgical Art from Antiquity to the Present'' and on ''Christian Art History''. At many universities, these subjects do not rate among the required courses within the teaching program of the studies of

Catholic theology Catholic theology is the understanding of Catholic doctrine or teachings, and results from the studies of theologians. It is based on Biblical canon, canonical Catholic Bible, scripture, and sacred tradition, as interpreted authoritatively by ...

, although the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

asked to study the history and principles of Christian art. The Pontifical University of Santa Croce includes these issues in its teaching program of theological studies, also in communication studies. On 1 July 2014 van Bühren was appointed as consultant to the Pontifical Council for Culture (since 2022 part of the Dicastery for Culture and Education). Since 2014, he is editorial board member of the peer-reviewed journal ''Church, Communication and Culture'', edited by Santa Croce's School of Communications and published by

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law ...

(

Taylor & Francis Group Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in England that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, Routledge, F1000 (publisher), F1000 Research or Dovepress. It is a division of Informa ...

). Recently, van Bühren's communication studies explain the importance of

for

, cultural journalism, religious

correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...

s and Church

media relations Media Relations involves working with media for the purpose of informing the public of an organization's mission, policies and practices in a positive, consistent and credible manner. It can also entail developing symbiotic relationships with med ...

. His current lectures include courses on '' Christian Art and Architecture in Rome. From Antiquity to the Present'' (in English), open to students of US universities with campus in Rome. These courses intersperse classroom sessions with site visits. Students are encouraged to combine both the visual and contextual analysis of artworks.Hannah Rose Shogren Smith,
How an image has power
'. In ''Newsroom'', University of St. Thomas, Minnesota. 7 January 2020.

Bibliography (selection)

*
Revelation in the Visual Arts
', in ''The Oxford Handbook of Divine Revelation'', ed. by Balázs M. Mezei, Francesca Murphy and Kenneth Oakes, New York / Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021, pp. 622–640 �
READ ONLINE
*
Tourism, religious identity and cultural heritage
', special issue edited together with Lorenzo Cantoni and Silvia De Ascaniis, in ''Church, Communication and Culture'' 3 (2018), pp. 195–418 *
Caravaggio's 'Seven Works of Mercy' in Naples. The relevance of art history to cultural journalism
', in ''Church, Communication and Culture'' 2 (2017), pp. 63–87 *''Contemporary Popes and Artists. Paradigms of Communication after the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965)'', in: Church Communications. Faces, People, Stories. Proceedings of the 8th Professional Seminar for Church Communications Offices on 16–18 April 2012 at the Pontifical University of Santa Croce in Rome, ed. by Alfonso Bailly-Baillière and Jorge Milàn Fitera, Roma 2014, pp. 227–23
– Download full text
(PDF file) *''Los Papas y los artistas modernos. La renovación de la actividad pastoral con los artistas después del Concilio Vaticano II (1962–1965)'', San José (Costa Rica): Ediciones Promesa 2012,
English summary
*''Papst Benedikt XVI. im Dialog mit Künstlern. Zur pastoralen Bedeutung des Künstlertreffens in der Sixtinischen Kapelle am 21. November 2009 im Kontext der modernen Kirchengeschichte'', in: Annales theologici 25, 2011, pp. 305–315 �
Download full text
(PDF file) *''Moderner Kirchenbau als Bedeutungsarchitektur. Die Lichtkonzeption Dominikus Böhms (1880–1955) als Ausdruck einer mystagogischen Raumidee'', in: »Liturgie als Bauherr«? Moderne Sakralarchitektur und ihre Ausstattung zwischen Funktion und Form, ed. by Hans Körner and Jürgen Wiener, Essen: Klartext Verlag 2010, pp. 241–256, *''Spiritualität des Irdischen. Die weltanschauliche Botschaft im Werk von Joseph Beuys (1921–1986)'', in: Sakralität und Moderne, ed. by Hanna-Barbara Gerl-Falkovitz, Dorfen (Munich): Hawel Verlag 2010, pp. 197–230, *''Paul VI. und die Kunst. Die Bedeutung des Montini-Pontifikates für die Erneuerung der Künstlerpastoral nach dem Zweiten Vatikanischen Konzil'', in: Forum Katholische Theologie 24, 2008, pp. 266–290 *''Kunst und Kirche im 20. Jahrhundert. Die Rezeption des Zweiten Vatikanischen Konzils'' (Konziliengeschichte, Reihe B: Untersuchungen), Paderborn: Verlag Ferdinand Schöningh 2008,
English summary and reviews
*''Die Werke der Barmherzigkeit in der Kunst des 12.–18. Jahrhunderts. Zum Wandel eines Bildmotivs vor dem Hintergrund neuzeitlicher Rhetorikrezeption'' (Studien zur Kunstgeschichte, vol. 115), Hildesheim / Zürich / New York: Georg Olms Verlag 1998,
English summary

Notes

External links

Personal website

School of Church Communications
at the Pontifical University of Santa Croce, Rome
School of Theology
at the Pontifical University of Santa Croce, Rome * Publications of Ralf van Bühren i
''WorldCat''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buhren, Ralf van 1962 births Living people Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni University of Cologne alumni Pontifical University of the Holy Cross alumni German art historians German architectural historians Communication theorists Contemporary historians Historians of Germany Historians of the Catholic Church Historians of Christianity 20th-century German Catholic theologians 21st-century German Catholic theologians Converts to Roman Catholicism from Protestantism German male non-fiction writers German historians of religion Pontifical University of the Holy Cross faculty