Neopaganism and visual art

Celtic-Briton and Pagan heroine Boudica

I came across the story of a Catholic virgin-martyr and canonized saint Maria Goretti; an eleven year old girl from early twentieth century Marche who forgave her murderer upon her death. I also noticed the typical church-inspired artwork of her. Some portrayed her as appearing as a child, while others gave her the appearance of a very young woman. These saints and martyrs are never lacking in visual art. It appears to me that Neopagans are lacking in this area.

Musically, Neopagans have been marvelously creative, with numerous different genres and styles. For some reason, visual artwork depicting gods, heroes, events, and concepts have been sorely lacking. I apologize to those who have accomplished the artwork that is out there, past and present. Even if one is not skilled in this area, they may still find an artist to have desired works done for a reasonable fee.

Church-styled and Lombardic-like portrayal of Maria Goretti

Maria Goretti probably more as she actually looked

There are various decisions that one would make prior to taking on an art project. What would you wish as the aesthetics of the person(s)? Typically, the Catholic Church goes the extra mile to completely de-sexualize the subject. Certain Neopagan-inspired artwork tends to oversexualize them. I don't claim to have the answer to this, but a god or hero would not have been walking around scantily clad. I think it would be safe to say that Neopagans would tend to be less modest than the Church; although many Feminist Neopagans seem to have a lot in common with the most strict Catholic Sisters. I think that we should be the ones to find the proper balance, with both extremes being somewhat undesirable.

A Church-style stained glass depiction of Beudica (Moot Hall, Colchester, UK)

Boudica, the Queen of the Iceni of Celtic Briton, strongly comes to mind when thinking of a Pagan heroine. She must have had tremendous strength and courage. A look at her depictions in visual art is interesting. Although the Almother in the form of Hecate or Diana has it's share of visual art, lesser gods and goddesses have much less or practically none at all. Even Aradia, even though the depictions out there are great, is lacking. The Teutonic gods and goddesses are fairly well represented.

Other ideas are regional gods, lesser-known heroes, your favorite direct ancestors, and historical events. Do your homework as some national heroes of the early Middle Ages were not Neopagan; for example, William Wallace was Catholic. Even tragic events are part of our history, such as the Roman slaughter of the last Druid stronghold at Anglesey Island. The Temple of Mona at Anglesey Island was soaked in blood. What other religion has ever suffered a humiliating final defeat such as that? Naturally, moments of glory are important, such as when Queen Gambara of the Langobards called out for her people to "Go Forth!" as they started their migration into central Europe.

Brainstorm ideas; there's a lot to choose from! Once I saw a scene depiction, probably from an Italian film, of a Celto-Gaulish prince marrying an Etruscan princess. That would make for an interesting work of art. Christian theocracy, bloodless science, monopoly Capitalism, soulless Atheism, Masculo-Feminism, and social Marxism have all done their part from cutting us off from the Heroic Ethic. Even within your own family history, you may find events of glory. For example, when my grandfather emigrated to Hurley, Wisconsin. He constructed a great house... pretty much all by himself. There's a photograph of the family in front of it after it's construction.

'The destruction of Irminsul by Charlemagne' (1882) by Heinrich Leutemann

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