My first exposure to St. Hildegard of Bingen was through her artwork. Hildegard experienced a series of visions throughout her life, beginning during her childhood in Germany. Because of this connection to the transcendent, she is considered a mystic. Her visions were recorded through her extensive writing as well through her unique depictions of what she saw in visions. Hildegard excelled at teaching and writing on a number of different topics. Her knowledge extended far beyond theological understandings and touched on music, medicine, poetry, physiology, and theater. She helped to shape the beliefs of the medieval Church through her writing. Because of this, she is one of the few female doctors of the Church; as far as women who have contributed to Church doctrine, this title has only been bestowed upon St. Catherine of Siena, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, St. Teresa Avila, and St. Hildegard. This group includes Hildegard for the significance of her complex writings, the authority she demonstrated in answering theological questions of her time, and her profound mystical understanding of God. The sheer volume of her works has led to the Church’s respect and acknowledgement of her importance for doctrinal development. The depth of her knowledge was incredibly uncommon for a woman in the 12th century; Hildegard is a great example for all people curious to explore the immensity of God’s wisdom.
As an artist, Hildegard followed the styles of the time with her illuminated texts, masterful compositions, and vivid drawings. When I look at her works, the emotion that Hildegard must have felt during her visions shines through. The images she conferred are vibrant, detailed, and full of geometric patterns. They express the mystery of God in a way that my mind struggles to comprehend. I first heard of Hildegard when presented with her image of the Trinity, “True Trinity in True Unity,” during a graduate course called “The Mystery of God.” The course explored the theology of the Trinity and my professor would often share different artistic depictions of the Trinity to help us dive deeper into the depths of who God may be.
Although I was a theology graduate student, my imagination had never considered the Trinity in any form other than the traditional, mostly humanoid God the Father, the long flowing locks of Jesus Christ in his white robes, and a lovely dove to express the Holy Spirit. To see God depicted in rich color, not only in a human form but also revealed by radiating concentric circles, shape and tone and detail all meant to uncover different aspects of God’s person - this was a new experience for me. I was challenged by this image of the Trinity; Hildegard’s mind was clearly more capable of imagining the possibilities of God’s physical presence than mine.
Hildegard opened my mind to a new way of considering who God is and the limits I may have put on God due to my own finite way of thinking. As human beings, we have difficulty broadening our horizons when it comes to our vision of God. We often impose human characteristics, personality traits, and emotions onto God, which hinder our ability to see beyond the familiar. Hildegard invites us to imagine a limitless God - a God who does not take the form of those who have disappointed us or those who harm us, but something beyond. This is the beauty of the mystics in our Catholic tradition. They are able to see more of the picture of who God is and of God’s desires for us. Our minds are limited because we are finite beings; we have a beginning and an end, and our minds begin and end with us. God, however, has no beginning and no end. Why would we expect this special being to look or behave like us? We are taught that God made us in God’s image and likeness - and this is true. But what does it mean to be made in the image and likeness of God? Does it mean God has the same shape, the same temperament, the same goals that we have? Does it mean our physical bodies represent the physical form of God? Hildegard might steer us to believe that the image and likeness of God that we have been born into is not just skin deep. Her mysticism offers an alternate look at what we can envision for our God. Mystics share their gifts so we too might imagine the limitless possibility of a God who is truly all-loving, all-knowing, and all-powerful. St. Hildegard, pray for us that our minds and hearts might be open to receiving God’s messages for us - what form they may take!
More of Hildegard’s art can be viewed here.
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