A HERMENEUTIC STUDY OF SELECTED PAINTINGS OF WOMEN RELIGIOUS ARTISTS OF THE TWELFTH AND TWENTIETH CENTURIES (HILDEGARD OF BINGEN, HERRAD OF LANDSBERG, GERMANY)

Hermeneutics evolved as an avenue of aesthetics before the dawn of the twentieth century with the theories of Martin Heidegger, Hans-Georg Gadamer, and Paul Ricoeur. These three scholars were influenced by the theories expressed in the writings of Freiderich Schliermacher, Wilhelm Dilthey and Edmund Husserl. They proposed that, since art works speak to the viewer, they can be the objects of hermeneutic studies. Hermeneutics enables the viewer to unlock messages inherent in paintings; messages which, at times, go beyond the vision held by the artist.;Hildegard of Bingen and Herrand of Landsberg, lived in twelfth century Germany. Hildegard's most important work, Scivias, revealed her visions and were illuminated in the Rupertsberg Codex. The researcher conducted hermeneutic studies of two of her paintings, "The Fall of the Angels," and "The Synagogue." Herrad composed and illuminated the Hortus Deliciarum. The researcher conducted hermeneutic studies of her paintings, "The Mystic Winepress," and "The Woman Clothed with the Sun.".;Most twentieth century women religious live beyond monastic walls. The researcher discovered artists in apostolic communities through a questionnaire which re-revealed how sisters combine their religious vocations with their call to create art.;Schwester Immolata Meyen, from Augsburg, Germany, is a full time artist. Her painting, "Schwester Wasser, Bruder Mond," ("Sister Water, Brother World") provided the topic for a hermeneutic study.;Since a Hermeneutic study requires a knowledge of the artist's particular milieu, the researcher investigated and included in this study the history of monasticism for women, the education available to some medieval nuns, and the aesthetic principles held by medieval scholars. Names and works of women religious who excelled as composers of music, as playwrights, scientists and artists emerged.;Sister Thoma Swanson, combines teaching art at Albertus Magnus College with producing art. The researcher conducted a hermeneutic study of her painting, "A Peruvian Mountain.".;When the messages inherent in the paintings were compared they revealed that the artists reflected the influence of both the ambience of the century and the milieu of the cloister. A creative spirituality, not common to the twelfth century, emerged in the works of the women of both centuries.