ABSTRACT
A sacred work of art, commissioned for a particular church at a specific time, may reflect in its iconography the current theological doctrine or recent significant events in church history.1 With changes in doctrine or the occurrence of new events, the once-timely image may lose its relevance as well as its placement in the church. And yet, even as the power of a sacred image can die, it may also have an afterlife, arising again in the form of elements and influences present in later works that affirm its continuing significance, even in a later era when its iconography is no longer current or understood.
