VIRTUAL INTERACTIVE TOURS AND COMMUNICATION OF THE DIVINE THROUGH CHRISTIAN ART

Abstract

Virtual Interactive Tours and Communication of the Divine through Christian Art. Today, Christian works of art are seen more often in museums and on the Internet than in the places for which they were created, namely churches. For many years, museums have been helping visitors discover the meaning of their works of art through the use of various multimedia tools, and recently their activities are increasingly present in the virtual world as well. An example of this is the exhibition Seeing the Unseen, organized by the National Gallery in London in 2020-21. Its virtual version is highly interactive and multi-sensorial. However, the museum context does not always allow the viewer of a Christian work of art to discover its religious meaning and references to the divine. The increasing digitalization of museum collections and the emergence of new multimedia tools, such as virtual visits, are opportunities for the Church to communicate the spiritual meaning of Christian works of art in an easily accessible way. The inclusion of Christian images that refer to God in online communication can help modern man, accustomed to experiencing reality even virtually, to discover a new way of spiritual encounter with God through art.