Dan Brown and Artistic License

A response to: More to Rome Than Angels and Demons; a True Story

I thoroughly enjoy the historical approach to sacred art in Elizabeth’s articles, and also appreciate her scholarly and incisive writing style. This article is no different, and applies the same criteria to a modern day issue, represented in the person of Dan Brown.

I think Elizabeth’s basic question of artistic license, together with artistic responsibility, is part of the matter at hand. How cavalier can we be with history? I think an answer lies with a quote from the world famous English historian, Lord Acton: «If history cannot confer faith and virtue, it can clear away the misconceptions and misunderstandings that turn men against each other.» Unfortunately, Dan Brown works in direct opposition to this philosophy and people suffer real historical consequences.

Fr. Derek Anderson