Part art objects and part mystical instruments of prayer, a new exhibition at the Getty Center explores the visual representations of Christ in Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts.

Running through July 27, "Imagining Christ" will feature about 20 manuscripts from the Getty's permanent collection, which originate from Western Europe that range from 11th to 15th Centuries. Also on display will be images from two recent acquisitions - the Vita Christi and Christ in Majesty.

"Having the Vita Christi on display is very exciting because it comes from a very unusual manuscript," says curator Kristen Collins who describes the English Romanesque document as having an "extensive Christ's cycle" or images of not only the life of Jesus but Mary as well.

"Comparatively speaking, there are other Christ cycles, but this one is a little bit longer and we get an evolving picture of Christ as a child," she explains. "We don't have many images of Jesus as a child."

The page that is on display shows a "very sweet image of Mary and Joseph" bringing a young Jesus to Jerusalem for a celebration. "The emphasis here is one of the humanity of Christ," says Collins.

Overall, the manuscripts on display fall into three categories: invoking Christ in Word and Ritual, Demonstrating Christ's Divinity and Exposing Christ's Humanity.

"I was very interested in showing the function of these manuscripts as well as their beauty as art objects," says Collins.

Indeed, the medieval faithful who were not members of the clergy depended largely on church services and private prayer books as spiritual connections. Illuminations in these books depicted the fundamentals of the Christian faith: Christ who was simultaneously human and divine as Son of God and God, the sacrifice Christ made for humankind, and the divine judge who would come again.

"By viewing these images, viewers participated in Christ's life and sacrifice," says Collins.

In addition to the manuscripts, also on display is another recent acquisition, Christ in Majesty, a Limoges plaque from around 1188 that is made of gilt copper and champlevé enamel. This relief metal sculpture is part of a whole series of figures in front of an altar in the Cathedral of Saint Martin in Ourense, Spain.

"It still has much of its gilding which can give guests the idea of how artists tried to get across the idea of Christ as 'divine light,'" says Collins.

Another first for this exhibition is that guests can use a computer kiosk to examine various pages of the Brandenburg Prayer Book, circa 1525-1530. "The challenge in doing shows like these is that you have to pick only one image for display," says Collins who believes guests will enjoy using interactive media to view multiple pages and zoom in on specific images.

Overall, Collins hopes that visitors today will try to imagine how the faithful of yesterday viewed these images as portals of prayer and faith. "We've lost the power of retention that people in the Middle Ages had," she says. "The act of memorization was more engrained in their culture --- these images were powerful devices that helped one tap into contemplative prayer, into a communion with the divine."

Upcoming events involving the exhibition include a panel discussion Imagining Christ: Intersections of Art and Theology on May 25 at 4 p.m. by Jack Miles, Distinguished Professor at UC Irvine and author of God: A Biography. Participants include sculptor Simon Toparovsky, who created the life-size bronze crucifix for the main altar of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Los Angeles; Father Patrick, director of the traditional icon painting workshop at Saint Gregory of Sinai Monastery; and film critic Eric David. An iconographer, Father Patrick will also lead a point-of-view talk on May 22 at 2:30 p.m.

Imagining Christ will be on display at The Getty Center now until July 27. The Getty is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 10 a.m.--9 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. The Getty is located at 1200 Getty Center Dr., L.A. Admission is free; parking is $8. For information, call (310) 440-7330.

"The Lamentation" (Masters of Dirc van Delf, c. 1405-1410), tempera colors, gold leaf and ink on parchment. Photo by J. PAUL GETTY MUSEUM "St. John the Evangelist" (unknown, 1615), tempera colors, gold paint and gold leaf on glazed paper. Photo by J. PAUL GETTY MUSEUM "The Crucifixion" (Nivardus of Milan, 11th century), tempera colors, gold, silver and ink on parchment. Photo by J. PAUL GETTY MUSEUM "Christ in Majesty" (Limoges School, c. 1188), copper (half relief), engraved, gilt, champlevé enamel, colored glass. Photo by J. PAUL GETTY MUSEUM