The Forgotten Power of Representational Art in a Post-Truth Age

“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.” (Genesis 1:31)

We live in a time when truth is often considered subjective, where beauty is “in the eye of the beholder,” and where meaning is up for debate. Art, once revered as a pursuit of truth and excellence, has not escaped this cultural shift. In many ways, it has led it.

But what if one of the greatest tools we have to combat this confusion has been quietly pushed aside?

What if representational art—art that depicts the true world—carries a power we’ve forgotten?

What Is Representational Art?

Representational art is grounded in reality. It portrays the observable world—people, landscapes, still life, the animal kingdom—with skill and intention. It doesn’t reject symbolism or imagination, and it embraces creative embellishment and freedom, but it begins with the assumption that reality matters. That the world we see was created with purpose. That form, structure, light, and beauty are not random—but fingerprints of the divine.

For centuries, representational art was the rigid standard - and held to the extreme. From Michelangelo to the Hudson River School, from Rembrandt to the Russian iconographers, artists saw their role as interpreters of reality—translators of God’s creation into visual praise. Some of the masters used creative freedom and interpretation, but many held to the exact depiction of what they observed.

But in the 20th century, the art world began to shift. The rise of abstraction, fueled by modernist and postmodernist philosophies, redefined the goal of art—not to reveal reality, but to reimagine or even deconstruct it.

And slowly, representation was dismissed as outdated, shallow, and even dishonest - after the world wars, people began to question whether objective truth was not in itself, in fact, a lie. And thus the rejection of those standards began.

But we must ask: what did we lose in the process?

The Age of Unreality

Today, we live in what many call a post-truth culture.

Objective truth is seen as rigid and outdated. Personal truth—"what’s true for me"—has taken its place. As a result, we're surrounded by disorientation. Words are redefined. Reality is blurred. Beauty is flattened into preference, and meaning is determined by mood.

In this context, representational art becomes more than just a style. It becomes a statement.

It declares:

There is order in the chaos.

There is beauty worth preserving.

There is truth outside ourselves.

Representational art roots us in something solid. It invites us to see again. To slow down. To observe. And in doing so, it testifies: creation is good—and the Creator is glorious.

Why It Still Matters

Representational art may seem quiet in a loud, in-your-face art scene. But don’t mistake subtlety for weakness.

In fact, its power lies in its stillness.

In a culture trained to glance past everything in seconds, representational realism is a step out of the norm, inviting the viewer to stop. To look again. To notice detail. Light. Texture. Form. It pulls us out of the fog of abstraction and says, “This is real. This matters.”

It also reawakens a sense of awe. Representational art often provokes wonder—not because it's fantastical, but because it reflects what God already made. And the more we examine the intricacy of that reality, the more clearly we see the hand of the Maker.

This doesn't mean we must create photographic art, though that can be one aspect of representational art. God didn't create us as robots, forced to simply churn out what we see around us. We aren't just living camera phones. We are free to use that Creator spirit God placed within us to embellish, recreate, amplify, reflect, reimagine - but all with the intent to point back to the original, in the knowledge that nothing we create could ever compare.

A Prophetic Role for Artists

We often think of prophets as preachers or poets—but artists can be prophets, too. Not because they predict the future, but because they reveal what is true, good, and beautiful in contrast to the culture around them.

In a post-truth age, representational artists have a prophetic calling:

To stand for truth in form.

To portray beauty that speaks without words.

To honor the world God made, not mock and deconstruct it.

This isn’t a rejection of imagination—it’s a reclaiming of foundation.

What This Means for The Majesty Project

At The Majesty Project, we believe representational art still has a vital role to play in awakening hearts and minds to God’s presence. When installed in public spaces, placed in at-risk communities, or donated to ministries, these works become silent sermons—proclaiming dignity, stability, and divine craftsmanship.

They remind the viewer that the world is not meaningless. That life is not shapeless, empty, and ironic. That beauty is not subjective. That our eyes were made to see glory—and that glory begins with seeing what God created.

We need true art.

Christian representational artists are positioned to bring restoration in a culture of confusion. Not through preaching, but through reflection and intentionality. Not by shouting, but by showing—clearly, skillfully, beautifully—what God has made and called “very good.” And if the God of the universe called his creation good, why do we need to reject it?

This is the forgotten power of representational art.

And in a post-truth age, it may be one of the most radical things we can create.