Christmas Day

Title: The Infant Christ on the Orb of the World

Artist: Joos van Cleve

Medium: Oil on panel

Size: 37 x 26 cm

Date: ca. 1530

Location: Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid

Luke 2:14 Give glory to God in heaven, and on earth let there be peace and goodwill among people.

In this image the artist combined Italian and Flemish elements. The Child, depicted full-length in elegant contrapposto on a crystal sphere, holds a slim cross in one hand and blesses with the other. His body maintains a delicate balance on the sphere but his legs and feet are securely positioned. The image evokes the idea of the Passion of Christ and that of the Christ Child as Saviour of mankind. The antecedents for such a figure are to be found in Italian art, while the landscape in the sphere with its four wings is Flemish in origin. Italian influence is again evident in the slight sfumato of the figure, derived from Leonardo da Vinci.

Joos van Cleve (c. 1458 - 1541) was a Netherlandish painter, mentioned in various documents in Antwerp as Joos van der Beke, nicknamed Van Cleve. He is known mostly for his religious works and portraits of royalty. He trained with the painter Jan Joest, with whom he worked on the wings of the altarpiece in the church of San Nikolai in Kalkar. Van Cleve moved to Antwerp where he is recorded as a master in the painters’ guild in 1511. From the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries, the name of Joos van Cleve as an artist was lost. The paintings now attributed to him were, at that time, known as the works of “the Master of the Death of the Virgin,” after the triptych currently in the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum. In 1894 it was discovered that the monogram on the back of the triptych was that of Joos van der Beke, an alias of Joos van Cleve. As a skilled technician, his art shows sensitivity to color and a unique solidarity of figures. His last paintings reveal a profound interest in the Italian Renaissance although there is no concrete evidence that he made a trip to Italy. 

The Twelve Days of Christmas - Day 4

Title: Christ in Glory
Artist: Unknown
Medium: Tempera on parchment  
Size: tbd.
Date: 17th-century
Location: British Library, London.

On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me four calling birds...

Four Calling birds represent the Four Gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke & John. This image, from an illuminated manuscript held at the British Library, London, is of the Christ in Glory, surrounded by traditional images depicting the Four Evangelists. Matthew, the author of the first gospel account is symbolized by a winged man, or angel. Mark, author of the second gospel account is symbolized by a winged lion – a figure of courage and monarchy. Luke, author of the third gospel account (and the Acts of the Apostles) is symbolized by a winged ox or bull – a figure of sacrifice, service and strength. John the Evangelist, author of the fourth gospel is symbolized by an eagle – a figure of the sky, and believed to be able to look straight into the sun.

The Twelve Days of Christmas - Day 2

Title: The Infant Savior
Artist: Andrea Mantegna
Medium: Tempera on canvas 
Size: 70.2 x 34.3 cm
Date: c. 1460
Location: The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me two turtle doves...

 

This stanza can be identified with either the pairing of the Old & New Testaments, or the two natures of Jesus: human and divine. Mantegna has chosen to represent the latter theme, with the infant Jesus portrayed in a decidedly un-childlike manner. Portraying Jesus in this manner depicts that he is aware of his divinity and still He chooses to remain as an infant. To further this point the artist shows Jesus’ right hand raised in the sign of blessing. This is obviously not something a normal infant would do and is meant to show that Jesus is more than just an infant. These and other similar symbols are used throughout the ages.

The Twelve Days of Christmas - Day 1

Title: Crucifixion

Artist: Franz von Stuck

Medium: Tempera on canvas

Size: 190 x 165 cm

Date: tbd.

Location: Museum der Bildenden Künste, Leipzig.

 

A bit of modern folklore asserts that the lyrics of the Christmas carol “The Twelve days of Christmas” were written as a catechism song to help young Catholics learn their faith at a time when practising Catholicism was criminalized in England (1558 - 1829). As summarized by Wikipedia: “There is no primary evidence supporting this claim, and no evidence that the claim is historical, or anything but a fanciful modern day speculation.” Indeed, the theory seems of relatively recent origin, first suggested by Canadian English teacher and hymnologist Hugh D. McKellar in a short article published in 1979. Regardless, the idea that the lyrics of the carol can represent something more than “merely an irreligious travesty” gives the song a deeper, more resonant meaning. And with that in mind, “The Twelve Days of Christmas”:

 

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a Partridge in a Pear Tree.

 

The symbolism speaks clearly to the image of Jesus on the Cross. Jesus Christ, symbolized as a mother partridge that feigns injury to decoy predators from helpless nestlings. And the pear tree represented as cross.

The Christmas Story

Title: The Christmas Story
Artist: Mary Wilshire
Medium: Four Color Process comic book cover
Size: 17 x 26 cm
Date: 1993
Location: From “The Life of Christ: The Christmas Story” New York: Marvel/Nelson.

Luke 2:4-7 So Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David, to be registered together with Mary, who was legally promised in marriage to him and was pregnant. And it happened that while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son, and wrapped him swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

The birth of the baby is described simply. “swaddling cloths” were strips of cloth used to wrap a baby. That the Child was put in a manger may mean that the birth was in a stable. There is a tradition that Jesus was born in a cave, which could have been used as a stable. Mangers were often outdoors, so it is possible that Jesus was born in the open air. If ever there was an opportunity for God to enact his plan with a majestic flourish, it was at Jesus' birth. But God did not presume upon humanity when he stepped in to redeem it. There was no pretense in this arrival. Rather, God chose to identify in the humblest way with those made in his image.

 

This adaptation of the nativity story for the comic book medium was by writer Louise Simonson and American penciller Mary Wilshire (b. 1953). At a young age Mary was influenced by newspaper comics and Mad magazine artists such as Jack Davis, Stan Drake and Alex Kotzky. She began her career in underground comix, and got her first work at Marvel Comics around 1980 working on Crazy. She is most well known for her work in the early 80s as the penciller and cover artist on Marvel's Red Sonja. This is another example in the decades long history of comic books used to spread the gospel, from Classics Illustrated to Japanese manga!

A Month of Miracles - Epilogue

Title: The Trinity
Artist: Lorenzo Lotto
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 170 x 115 cm
Date: 1523
Location: Sant'Alessandro della Croce, Bergamo

John 10:24-30 - The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”  Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;  and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

A Month of Miracles Part 24 - Christ Healing the Ear of Malchus

Title: Christ Healing the Ear of Malchus
Artist: Unknown
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Size: 121.2 x 96.9 cm
Date: ca. 17th century
Location: The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle.

Luke 22:47-53 - While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.

The IVP New Testament Commentary Series notes how the disciples represent those in panic who try to take matters into their own hands. They fight to avoid the path of suffering God has laid out for his messenger and those who follow him. While one asks, "Lord, should we strike with our swords?" another one answers on his own, wielding the sword and cutting off the right ear of the high priest's servant. Sometimes disciples believe they must take matters into their own hands to defend Jesus. But here Jesus stops the attempt to defend him with violence. His path takes a different direction. The healed servant pictures the opportunity that exists to experience God's grace. Here is a man who rejects Jesus and participates in the arrest leading to Jesus' death. Yet the avowed enemy is not beyond Jesus' healing touch. A severed ear can always be restored, if one will listen to him.

In this picture, while a soldier lifts a rope noose to put it around Jesus' arms and chest, Jesus touches Malchus' right ear. The connection between the two is through a flow from Jesus’ right hand on his own chest, that follows the arc of light clockwise across his breast bone, down his left arm, and to Malchus' right ear. The flow of energy becomes visual, and Malchus appears more struck by that than the blow from the sword. Although the identity of the painter of this work is unknown, it has been identified as being from the Flemish school, and was created in the Netherlands during the 17th century.

A Month of Miracles Part 23 - Christ Healing Bartimaeus

Title: Christ Healing Bartimaeus
Artist: Carmel Cauchi
Medium: Oil on Board
Size: 181 x 121 cm
Date: 1994
Location: George Eliot Hospital Chapel, Nuneaton.

Mark 10:46-52 - Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. “Rabbi, I want to see.” The blind man said. “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

Blind Bartimaeus's faith, persistence, and recognition of Jesus' significance provide a focus for this important story of discipleship. At the outset he is sitting by the roadside, but in the end he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road. This is a clear portrait of the healing power of the merciful King, but this story also functions as a parable of discipleship: To be healed from spiritual blindness is to grasp the true identity of Jesus and join him on the way to the Cross.

Carmel Cauchi (b.1927) is a Maltese born painter who now resides in England. He has more than 100 works of art currently hanging in public places throughout the UK, including a 40ft mural in Rugby and a 35ft mural in Feltham, Middlesex. Three of his paintings were officially unveiled by the Queen. Mr Cauchi moved to England 45 years ago after winning a Commonwealth scholarship to study art.

A Month of Miracles Part 16 - Jesus Cures the Man Who Was Deaf and Mute

Title: Jesus Christ Cures the Man Who Was Deaf and Mute
Artist: Unknown
Medium: Illuminated Manuscript
Size: tbd
Date: c. 15th century
Location: Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Austria.

Mark 7:31-37 - Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him. After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly. Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

In this passage Mark deliberately echoes Old Testament language as he talks about Jesus. In v.32 Mark uses a very rare word to describe this man’s condition. You wouldn’t expect a word meaning ‘almost unable to speak’ to be very common, but in fact this is the only time it comes up in the whole New Testament. It is also rare in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament. Almost the only place it appears is in the prophecy of Isaiah, in a passage where he looks forward to the day when God will intervene in human history and bring about a restored humanity in a restored Creation (Isaiah 35:3-10).

The Codex Vindobonensis Palatinus is a 15th century Illuminated Manuscript held in the collection of the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna, Austria.

A Month of Miracles Part 13 - Healing the Paralytic at the Pool of Bethesda

Title: Christ Healing the Paralytic at the Pool of Bethesda
Artist: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Size: 237 x 261 cm
Date: c. 1667
Location: The National Gallery, London.

John 5:1-15 - Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals.  Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie — the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” The invalid replied, “Sir, I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.” But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ” So they asked him, “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?” The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there. Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” The man went away and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had made him well.

Jesus took the initiative by seeking from the paralytic a desire for healing and then granting it, though the man misunderstood what Jesus could do for him and made excuses for his continuing illness; the pool of Bethesda was periodically visited by an angel, and whoever first stepped into the water after this visit would be cured of illness. That the cured man carried his mat is no incidental detail. It was, of course, solid evidence that he had been cured. But it is also important to what follows; for, as the text stresses, it was a visible violation of Jewish law. When accosted, the former invalid absolved himself by casting the blame onto the one who had healed him, but he was at that time still ignorant of Jesus' identity.

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (December 1617 – April 1682) was the leading painter in Seville in the later 17th century. He remained one of the most admired and popular of all European artists in the 18th and early 19th centuries. His early works were much influenced by the early works of Velázquez, executed before Velázquez left Seville in 1623, and by the paintings of Zurbarán. This painting was made for the church belonging to the hospital of the Caridad (Charity) in Seville. The Caridad was a charitable brotherhood dedicated to helping the poor and sick of the city. Murillo was himself a member of the brotherhood. Murillo painted six large pictures for the church representing six of the seven acts of charity.

A Month of Miracles Part 3 - Jesus Heals at Sunset

Title: Christ Healing a Sick Child
Artist: Fritz von Uhde
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Size: 58.5 x 36.5 cm
Date: 1911
Location: tbd

Luke 4:40-41 - At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of God;” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.

The healings described earlier are not one-time coincidences. Jesus possesses the power to heal consistently. It is a ministry of mercy to those in need, fighting to overcome evil with compassion. Jesus' compassion is pictured by his laying on of hands. In his touch are power and presence. People flock to him because they sense that compassionate element in his work. By the way Jesus reaches out to them, they know he cares. Again it is the demons who discern that Jesus is the Son of God. People might see in Him no more than another man, even though he demonstrates the ability to heal what ails them. But the forces of evil recognized Him. “The Christ” means “the anointed One,” the Messiah.

Fritz von Uhde (born Friedrich Hermann Carl Uhde, May 1848 – February 1911) was a German painter of genre and religious subjects whose style lay between Realism and Impressionism. His work was often rejected by the official art criticism, and by the public, because his representations of ordinary scenes were considered vulgar or ugly. In about 1890, he became a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. As well, with Max Slevogt and Lovis Corinth, Uhde was one of the leading figures in the Munich Secession, and later joined the Berlin Secession as well. Progressing in his naturalistic conception, Uhde gave rise to a complete change in German art, counting among his followers most of the younger generation.

A Month of Miracles Part 1 - Christ Healing the Sick in the Temple

Title: Christ Healing the Sick in the Temple
Artist: Benjamin West
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 90.5 x 69.8 cm
Date: c.1780–1781
Location: The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.

Mark 1:21-28 - They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.” News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.

Jesus’ teaching is unlike that of the scribes because it is tied to His person and to His interpretation of Scripture. As soon as Christ began to preach, he began to work miracles for the confirmation of his doctrine, announcing the coming of the kingdom and the defeat of Satan. The victory Jesus Christ obtained over the unclean spirit astonished those that saw it; they were all amazed. It was evident, beyond contradiction, that the man was possessed; it was evident that he was forced out by the authority of Christ. The victory which Jesus Christ obtained over the unclean spirit was the Son of God manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

Benjamin West, (October 1738 – March 1820) was an Anglo-American painter of historical scenes around and after the time of the American War of Independence. He was the second president of the Royal Academy in London, serving from 1792 to 1805 and 1806 to 1820. West is known for his large scale history paintings, which use expressive figures, colours and compositional schemes to help the spectator to identify with the scene represented. West called this "epic representation". In 1806 he produced The Death of Nelson, to commemorate Horatio Nelson's death at the Battle of Trafalgar.

Corpus Christi

Title: A Blessed Abbes Receiving the Host from the Hands of Christ
Artist: Giovanni Battista Gaulli
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 75 x 43 cm
Date: 1690s
Location: Musée du Louvre, Paris.

Luke 22:19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

The Feast of Corpus Christi, or the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ (as it is often called today), goes back to the 13th century, but it celebrates something far older: the institution of the Sacrament of Holy Communion at the Last Supper. On September 8, 1264, Pope Urban IV issued the papal bull "Transiturus," which established the Feast of Corpus Christi as a universal feast of the Church, to be celebrated on the Thursday following Trinity Sunday.

Giovanni Battista Gaulli (May 1639 –April 1709), also known as Baciccio, Il Baciccio or Baciccia (all Genoese nicknames for Giovanni Battista), was a painter of the Italian High Baroque. As the High Baroque movement evolved into the more playful Rococo, and the popularity of this style dwindled, Baciccio too moved in this direction. Thus, in contrast to the grandeur of his composition of the illusionistic vault fresco in the church of the Gesù in Rome, we see him gradually adopting less intense colors, and more delicate compositions after 1685 - all hallmarks of the Rococo. Baciccio is best known for his grand, Gianlorenzo Bernini-influenced  vault fresco in the church of the Gesù.

The Ascension

Title: The Ascension
Artist: John Singleton Copley
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 81 x 73 cm
Date: 1775
Location: The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Luke 24:50-56 - When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.

As we come to the end of Luke’s Gospel, it is important to recall that Luke is only half finished with his story. The sequel comes in Acts. The resurrection-ascension is the link between the two volumes. That Luke regards the ascension as crucial is clear from Peter's speech in Acts 2. Now that Jesus is raised and seated at God's right hand, the mediating Ruler at the Father's side can pour out the blessing of God's Spirit.

John Singleton Copley (1738 – 1815) was an American painter, a son of Irish immigrants. He is famous for his portrait paintings of important figures in colonial New England, depicting in particular middle-class subjects. Though he had a long and successful career, the Napoleonic Wars brought hard times, and maintaining his household and the education of a talented son were costly. By the time of his death, despite his fame and talent, he left his family to settle his debts.

Sixth Sunday of Lent - Entombment

Title: Entombment
Artist: Fra Angelico
Medium: Tempera on wood
Size: 38 x 46 cm
Date: 1438-40
Location: Alte Pinakothek, Munich.

John 19:41-42 - At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

This panel was part of the altarpiece of the main altar in the monastery church of San Marco, Florence, and was originally in the middle of its predella. Christ's body is supported by Nicodemus, and his hands are held and kissed by the stooping Virgin and St John. Christ has a weightless air about him, so that the three other figures appear to have to do little to support him. The winding cloth lies stretched out in a receding rectangle creating the foreground space, its folds and color echoing the white rock. Behind lies the dark rectangular void of the tomb. The sparsity and simplicity of the composition, the firmly closed-off space and the extensive use of white in this panel, are all also found in Angelico's frescoes at San Marco. The figures here, arranged parallel with each other, with the central perspective of the shroud leading to the tomb, shows a very different idea of spatial organization from that in Rogier van der Weyden's panel of the same subject.

Fra Angelico (c. 1395 – February 1455), was a Florentine painter as well as a Dominican friar, having entered a Dominican convent in Fiesole in 1418. He rose from obscure beginnings as a journeyman illuminator to the renown of an artist whose last major commissions were monumental fresco cycles in St Peter’s and the Vatican Palace, Rome. Within his lifetime or shortly thereafter he was also called Il Beato (the Blessed), in reference to his skills in painting religious subjects. In 1982 Pope John Paul II conferred beatification, in recognition of the holiness of his life, thereby making this title official.

Fifth Sunday of Lent - Christ on the Cross

Title: Christ on the Cross
Artist: Eugène Delacroix
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 80 x 64.2 cm
Date: 1846
Location: The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.

John 19:31-37 - Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.

Sharply silhouetted against the darkened sky is the dying Christ. A couple of gesturing spectators appear at the left, and on the right are two mounted Roman soldiers with billowing banners. Other onlookers are visible in the mid-ground. Although not a practicing Christian, Delacroix painted a number of New Testament subjects. Evidently, he was attracted to the drama of Christ's Passion and was endeavoring to deal with issues of personal faith raised by Christ's human and divine nature. When this work was exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1847, the critics enthusiastically praised it, noting its affinities with Crucifixion scenes by the great Flemish master Peter Paul Rubens.

Ferdinand Victor Eugene Delacroix (April 1798 – August 1863) was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as a leader of the French Romantic school. In 1815 he entered the studio of the neoclassical painter Pierre Narcisse Guérin, where he met Théodore Géricault, a romantic painter by whom he was much influenced. Delacroix took for his inspiration the art of Rubens and painters of the Venetian Renaissance, with an attendant emphasis on color and movement rather than clarity of outline and carefully modeled form. Delacroix's use of expressive brushstrokes and his study of the optical effects of color profoundly shaped the work of the Impressionists, while his passion for the exotic inspired the artists of the Symbolist movement.

Third Sunday of Lent - Christ Before Pilate

Title: Christ before Pilate
Artist: Jacopo Tintoretto
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 515 x 380 cm
Date: 1566-67
Location: Scuola Grande di San Rocco, Venice.

Matthew 27:12-26 - When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor. Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas. So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him. While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.” But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor. “Barabbas,” they answered. “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked. “Crucify him!” They all answered. “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!” All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!” Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

This part of Matthew's account has less to do with Jesus than with Pilate: it is not Jesus but the character of Pilate that is on trial. Though Pilate knows the unjust motivation of the charges and receives a divine warning, political expediency takes precedence over justice. Are we also guilty of the same crime whenever we side with views because they are popular in our society or political party even though we know that someone is suffering unjustly? The hearing is swift not only because Pilate is more concerned with his political position than with justice, but also because Jesus refuses to defend himself. By Roman law, a defendant who refused to make a defense was assumed guilty.

Tintoretto (September 1518 – May 1594) also known as Jacopo Robusti or Jacopo Comin, was an Italian painter and a notable exponent of the Venetian Renaissance school. Tintoretto decorated the walls of the Sala dell'Albergo by paintings showing important moments from the Passion of Christ and he finished them in the early months of 1567.The most admired has always been Christ before Pilate. In a very fine and measured luministic web the figure of Christ, wrapped in a white mantle, stands out like a shining blade against the crowd and the architectural scenery. He is centered by a bright ray of light and stands tall in front of Pilate who is portrayed in red robes and as if sunk in shadows. Taking up the idea of Carpaccio in his St Ursula cycle, Tintoretto portraits the old secretary at the foot of Pilate's throne. He leans against a stool covered with dark green cloth and with great diligent enthusiasm notes down every moment, every word spoken by the judge amid the murmurings of the pitiless crowd which obstinately clamors for the death of Christ.

Second Sunday of Lent - Christ Taken Prisoner

Title: Christ Taken Prisoner
Artist: Giuseppe Cesari
Medium: Oil on walnut panel
Size: 89 x 62 cm
Date: c. 1597
Location: Staatliche Museen, Kassel.

Mark 14:43-52 - Just as he was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders. Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.” Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. The men seized Jesus and arrested him. Then one of those standing near drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. “Am I leading a rebellion,” said Jesus, “that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I was with you, teaching in the temple courts, and you did not arrest me. But the Scriptures must be fulfilled.” Then everyone deserted him and fled. A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.

As the armed mob takes Jesus captive, in a futile gesture, one of the disciples draws a sword and severs the ear of the high priest's servant. In Matthew's account this becomes an opportunity for Jesus to teach. He warns the disciple not to return violence for violence, for those who live by the sword die by the sword. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus had urged his disciples not to turn to violence; a child of God must love even the enemy. If it were a simple matter of displays of power, God could overwhelm Jesus' attackers with legions of angels. But God's reign revealed in the scriptures would not be imposed by violence. Jesus' fidelity would take him into the valley of death but, ultimately, the scriptures would be fulfilled and love would defeat violence and death.

Giuseppe Cesari (1568 – July 1640) was an Italian Mannerist painter, also named Il Giuseppino. Christ Taken Prisoner is one of Cesari's most important works, its popularity attested by the existence of a somewhat smaller version in the Galleria Borghese and of numerous copies. Cesari bathes the scene in a pale moonlight that gives the colors an almost metallic coolness. His rendering of the form of the moon, and of the stars shining with varying degrees of brightness, testifies to a growing interest in the realistic representation of the night sky. The picture must have been painted in Rome in 1596/97, when Cesari was working on one of his most important commissions, the fresco cycle for the Palazzo dei Conservatori.

19 IMAGES FROM THE 19th CENTURY: PART 19 - Temptation of Christ

Title: Temptation of Christ
Artist: Ilya Repin
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: tbd
Date: 1896
Location: tbd

19 IMAGES FROM THE 19th CENTURY: PART 19

Matthew 4:8-10 Again the devil takes him to a very high mountain, and shows him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory, and says to him “All these things will I give thee if, falling down, thou wilt do me homage.” Then says Jesus to him, “Get thee away, Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt do homage to the Lord thy God, and him alone shalt thou serve.”

Traditional academics have argued that great religious painting ends with Tiepolo (1696 – 1770), that subsequent painters produced charming works, but did nothing new. But as we have seen, the nineteenth century was a period of creative searching and upheaval for European artists, notably among the French. Traditionalists, like Ingres, tried to stem the tide of new styles, but by the time of his death in 1867, a new generation of creative talent, such as Manet and Cezanne, had forged the way ahead. The Symbolist movement, a continuation of the Romantic tradition of artists like Blake and Turner, anticipated the psychology of Freud and Jung. With notable artists such as Bocklin and Redon, their use of mythological and dream imagery created a visual language of the soul, and made extensive use of Christian imagery. More a philosophical approach than an actual style of art, they were a major influence on some Expressionists. Like most Europeans of the nineteenth century, all these artists were raised in a Christian culture, with early life organized around the central rituals of the church. This does not mean, necessarily, that they were pious, conservative church-goers, but only that such a milieu allowed their creative spirits inspiration to create some masterpieces of Christian art.

Ilya Yefimovich Repin (August 1844 – September, 1930) was a leading Russian painter and sculptor of the Peredvizhniki artistic school. His realistic works often expressed great psychological depth and exposed the tensions within the existing social order. During his maturity, Repin painted many of his most celebrated compatriots, including the novelist Leo Tolstoy. Additionally, Repin devoted much time to painting religious subjects, though his treatment of these was usually innovative and not traditional. Shortly after 1900 Repin moved to Kuokkala, Finland, located about an hour's train ride from St. Petersburg. Later, as the artist did not accept the Revolution of 1917, he did not want to go back to Russia, even though in 1926 a delegation sent by the Ministry of Education of the Soviet Union helped him financially and tried to entice him to return. To acknowledge and commemorate Repin's artistic achievement, in 1948 Kuokkala was renamed Repino.

19 IMAGES FROM THE 19th CENTURY: PART 17 - Mary Magdalene in the house of Simon the Pharisee

Title: Mary Magdalene in the house of Simon the Pharisee
Artist: Jean Beraud
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Size: 101.2 x 131.5 cm
Date: 1891
Location: Musée d'Orsay, Paris.

19 IMAGES FROM THE 19th CENTURY: PART 17

Luke 7:36-47 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.” Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you. Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.” Jesus said, “You have judged correctly.” Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”

This interesting and technically accomplished painting pulls the event recorded in Luke into the artist’s contemporary world. Only the figure of Jesus is timeless. All the others, including the startled maid at far right, are in modern dress. The painting was controversial when it first appeared, because people rightly suspected that Beraud was trying to make them uncomfortable by confronting them with their own failings, their own hypocrisy. Many of the well-heeled men in the painting would have had mistresses. Now they were confronted with reality, with raw human suffering, and they did not particularly like it. Interestingly, each person in this work is evidently illustrated with features of a personality from of the world of political or the arts. Christ is illustrated with the features of the socialist journalist Albert Duke-Quercy and Simon the Pharisee those of the writer Ernest Renan.

Jean Beraud (January 1849 – October 1935) was a French painter and commercial artist noted for his paintings of Parisian life during the Belle Époque. He was born in St. Petersburg, son of a French sculptor. Studied law in Paris, then turned to painting after the Franco-Prussian War and studied for two years at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts under Bonnat. While his Impressionist contemporaries were moving out into the country to study the changing effects of the landscape during the late nineteenth century, Beraud remained rooted in Paris, studying the city life and its people. By the 1890s Beraud had interestingly decided to pursue religious themes, although at one point they had become the antithesis of progressive artistic dictum. As noted by Art critic Gabriel P. Weisberg “...by the end of the century there were so many religious compositions – and painters – that the world of art was flooded with religious sentimentality.”