Hornik, Heidi J. 1962-

PERSONAL:

Born May 4, 1962, in NY; married Mikeal C. Parsons (a New Testament scholar); children: Mikeal Joseph, Matthew Quincy. Education: Cornell University, B.A., 1984; Pennsylvania State University, M.A., 1987, Ph.D., 1990. Hobbies and other interests: Travel.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Department of Art, Baylor University, P.O. Box 97263, Waco, TX 76798-7263. E-mail—Heidi_Hornik@baylor.edu.

CAREER:

Baylor University, Waco, TX, professor of art history.

WRITINGS:

NONFICTION

(Editor, with husband, Mikeal C. Parsons) Interpreting Christian Art: Reflections on Christian Art, Mercer University Press (Macon, GA), 2003.

(With Mikeal C. Parsons) Illuminating Luke: The Infancy Narrative in Italian Renaissance Painting, Trinity Press International (Harrisburg, PA), 2003.

(With Mikeal C. Parsons) Illuminating Luke: The Public Ministry of Christ in Italian Renaissance and Baroque Painting, T & T Clark International (New York, NY), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS:

Heidi J. Hornik is a professor of art history at Baylor University. One of her foremost subjects of research is Michele Tosini, an Italian Renaissance painter of the Mannerist period, also known as Michele di Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio. Because the painter lived in Tuscany, Hornik has frequently traveled there to research his life.

Hornik's first published book, Interpreting Christian Art: Reflections on Christian Art, is a collection of papers she edited with her husband, Mikeal C. Parsons. The papers had been presented at the Pruit Memorial Symposium on the interpretation of Christian art. Parsons brought to the project his knowledge of the New Testament, which is his field of study.

Hornik and Parsons again collaborated on Illuminating Luke: The Infancy Narrative in Italian Renaissance Painting and Illuminating Luke: The Public Ministry of Christ in Italian Renaissance and Baroque Painting. In the former, they consider four paintings that illustrate the account of Christ's infancy as written by the apostle Luke. They are Leonardo da Vinci's Annunciation, Pontormo's Visitation, Domenico Ghirlandaio's Nativity and Adoration of the Shepherds, and Ambrogio Lorenzetti's Presentation in the Temple. Color prints of the paintings discussed are included in the book, which, with its emphasis on the painters and their work, is more a work of art history than a study of the religious texts. One intent of the authors is to bring new light about the visual interpretation of Christianity to those whose Protestant heritage and tradition has generally turned away from visual works concerning Christ and Christianity.

The authors speculate on what message each of the painters drew from Luke's Gospel account of Christ's infancy, and the ways in which their works might affect the way contemporary Christians interpret Luke's account. The book has five chapters; one on each of the paintings, and one on Luke himself. He is known as a physician, a man who painted pictures of the mother of Christ, and the patron saint of the guild of artists in Florence, Italy. Charles H. Talbert, reviewing the book for Interpretation, stated that the coauthors deal well with their areas of expertise: "Both bring a specialist's gifts to the part for which each is responsible. This means the quality is consistently high. Although there are parts of each chapter by the one and parts by the other, the chapters read in a seamless way. The writing is clear, the argument easy to follow, the documentation helpful."

In Illuminating Luke: The Public Ministry of Christ in Italian Renaissance and Baroque Painting, Hornik and Parsons took the same approach to a later period in Christ's life. The book is a "stunningly presented volume" that continues the earlier book's mission to foster deeper understanding of the Gospel of Luke, according to David B. Gowler in the Biblical Theology Bulletin. In this volume, the paintings discussed portray the baptism of Christ, a miraculously huge catch of fish, and the parables of the Good Samaritan, the prodigal son, and the rich man and Lazarus. Gowler wrote: "The scholarship is impeccable, the discussions enlightening, and the disparate sections of each chapter are necessarily selective so that those sections can be integrated into a coherent whole. Their explorations of the dynamics of text, context, and reception are fascinating. This book is a model of an interdisciplinary approach that provides significant insights as well as posing important questions." Gowler found the entire book interesting, but had special praise for the chapter on the parable of the prodigal son, and the paintings of that story done by Gian Francesco Barbieri Guercino. The artist painted at least seven different versions of the story, and the authors analyze the way the various depictions were influenced by changing social and religious cultures. Hennie Stander, a contributor to the Review of Biblical Literature, was also enthusiastic in his endorsement of Illuminating Luke: The Public Ministry of Christ in Italian Renaissance and Baroque Painting. In Stander's estimation, "The topics are interesting; the writing is clear; the arguments are solid and persuasive; the material is well structured."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Biblical Theology Bulletin, June 22, 2007, David B. Gowler, review of Illuminating Luke: The Public Ministry of Christ in Italian Renaissance and Baroque Painting, p. 80.

B R, December 1, 2004, "Art as Interpretation," p. 41.

Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, June 1, 2004, J.I. Millar, review of Illuminating Luke: The Infancy Narrative in Italian Renaissance Painting, p. 1870.

Currents in Theology and Mission, October 1, 2006, Edgar Krentz, review of Illuminating Luke: The Infancy Narrative in Italian Renaissance Painting, p. 418.

Interpretation, April 1, 2005, Charles H. Talbert, review of Illuminating Luke: The Infancy Narrative in Italian Renaissance Painting, p. 218; October 1, 2006, review of Illuminating Luke: The Public Ministry of Christ in Italian Renaissance and Baroque Painting, p. 493.

Publishers Weekly, September 22, 2003, review of Illuminating Luke: The Infancy Narrative in Italian Renaissance Painting, p. 75.

Review of Biblical Literature, Volume 8, 2006, Hennie Stander, review of Illuminating Luke: The Public Ministry of Christ in Italian Renaissance and Baroque Painting, pp. 625-627.

Theology, January 1, 2006, Stephen W. Need, review of Illuminating Luke: The Infancy Narrative in Italian Renaissance Painting.

ONLINE

Heidi Hornik Faculty Home Page,http://www3.baylor.edu/~Heidi_Hornik (May 16, 2008).

Penn State Art History Department,http://www.arthistory.psu.edu/ (May 18, 2008), author profile.