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.

The Temptation of Christ on the Mountain

Title: The Temptation of Christ on the Mountain

Artist: William Hole

Medium: Printed book illustration

Size: 29 x 24 cm

Date: c.1905

Location: From “The Life of Jesus of Nazareth Portrayed in Colours.” London: Eyre & Spottiswoode.

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.

Satan tempted Christ to idolatry with the offer of the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them. The glory of the world is the most charming temptation to the unthinking and unwary. Christ was tempted to worship Satan. He rejected the proposal with abhorrence. Some temptations are openly wicked; and they are not merely to be opposed, but rejected at once. It is good to be quick and firm in resisting temptation. If we resist the devil he will flee from us. But the soul that deliberates is almost overcome. We find but few who can decidedly reject such baits as Satan offers.

William Hole (b. Salisbury 1846 – d. 1917) relocated to Edinburgh as a youth where he received his education at the Edinburgh Academy. But after serving as an apprentice to a civil engineer in the city, he decided that he wanted to see more of the world. While traveling through Italy he befriended some artists in Rome who convinced him that he should pursue a career in art. On returning to Edinburgh, he began formal training in both painting and etching at the Royal Scottish Academy. In the early 1900's Hole actually travelled to the Holy land and painted his pictures on the spot. Even depicting such amazing events as Jesus’ temptation by the devil, these pictures still retain an air of authenticity.

Temptation of Christ

Title: Temptation of Christ

Artist: James B. Janknegt

Medium: Oil on panel

Size: 66 x 60 cm

Date: 1990

Location: tbd.

Matthew 4:5-7: Then the devil takes him to the holy city, and sets him upon the edge of the temple, and says to him, If thou be Son of God cast thyself down; for it is written, He shall give charge to his angels concerning thee, and on their hands shall they bear thee, lest in anywise thou strike thy foot against a stone. Jesus said to him, It is again written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

The devil tempted Christ to presume upon his Father's power and protection, in a point of safety. There are no extremes more dangerous than despair and presumption, especially in the affairs of our souls. Satan has no objection to staging his assaults at holy places. The holy city is the place where he does, with the greatest advantage, tempt men to pride and presumption. All high places are slippery places; advancements in the world makes a man a mark for the Tempter. Satan is well versed in Scripture and able to quote it readily. It is possible for a man to have his head full of Scripture, and his mouth full of Scripture, while his heart is full of bitter enmity to God.

This portrait of Christ’s temptation brilliantly contains the elements of his battle to resist the tempter, from the updated landscape of the “Holy city”, to the images of a tumbling Jesus in the irises of this own eyes. The predominant red hues further suggest the struggle that Jesus faces, the taunts of the devil prefiguring those cast at Jesus at his own crucifixion: He saved others; himself he cannot save (Mark 15:31).

James B. Janknegt was born in Austin, Texas. A self-confessed Jesus Freak while in high school, Jim became part of The Well, a trans-denominational coffee house where he painted murals on the walls and sang in the folk group. He attended art school at the University of Texas in Austin and graduated with a BFA in 1978. He left Texas and moved to Iowa City to attend graduate school, graduating with an MA and MFA. He has exhibited his work in multiple galleries and museums. Further of his work can be viewed at http://janknegt.eccwireless.com/

The Temptation of Christ

Title: The Temptation of Christ

Artist: Titian (Tiziano Vecelli)

Medium: Oil on panel

Size: 90 x 70 cm

Date: c. 1516-1525

Location: Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Matthew 4:3-4: And the tempter coming up to him said, If thou be Son of God, speak, that these stones may become loaves of bread. But he answering said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word which goes out through God's mouth.

This painting portrays one of three temptations that Christ faced during his forty days fast in the desert. Christ is being tempted by a young demon, perhaps symbolizing the true corruption of innocence, that presents a stone and challenges Christ to perform the miracle of turning it into bread, proving that he is truly the Son of God. He is tempted to despair of his Father's goodness, and to distrust his Father's care. It is one of the wiles of Satan to take advantage of our outward condition; and those who are brought into straits have need to double their guard. Christ answered all the temptations of Satan with “It is written”; to set an example, he appealed to what was written in the Scriptures. Let us learn not to take any wrong courses for our supply when our wants are ever so pressing: in some way the Lord will provide. Alfonso d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, may have commissioned this painting in about 1516-25.

Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1488 – August 1572) better known as Titian, was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, in the Republic of Venice. Recognized by his contemporaries as "The Sun Amidst Small Stars" (recalling the famous final line of Dante's Paradiso), Titian was one of the most versatile of Italian painters, equally adept with portraits, landscape backgrounds, and mythological and religious subjects. His painting methods, particularly in the application and use of color, would exercise a profound influence not only on painters of the Italian Renaissance, but on future generations of Western art. Few of the pupils and assistants of Titian became well-known in their own right; for some being his assistant was probably a lifetime career, but it is said that Titian employed El Greco (or Dominikos Theotokopoulos) in his last years.

The Temptation In The Wilderness

Title: The Temptation In The Wilderness

Artist: Briton Riviere

Medium: Oil on canvas

Size: tbd

Date: 1898

Location: Guildhall Art Gallery, London.

Matthew 4:1-2: Then Jesus was carried up into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted of the devil: and having fasted forty days and forty nights, afterwards he hungered.

Directly after he was declared to be the Son of God, and the Savior of the world, Jesus was tempted; great privileges, and special tokens of Divine favor, will not secure any from being tempted. Satan aimed in all his temptations to bring Christ to sin against God. The enemy is subtle, spiteful, and very daring; but he can be resisted. It is a comfort to us that Christ, being tempted, found strength, and that the Holy Spirit, witness to our being adopted as children of God, that will answer all the suggestions of the evil spirit.

"The Temptation In the Wilderness" is an example of the artist's technical skill and knowledge, and is also interesting as being the successful outcome of an experiment in color. The painter decided to express the sentiment of his subject almost entirely by means of color, i.e. by the white figure of the Christ against the sunset glow of the sky, both sky and figure being focused by the gloom of the landscape. He made many notes of the color effects derived from the juxtaposition of white and sunset, and found, as he expected and hoped, that the white, in shadow with the cold light of the south-eastern sky, appeared almost as a bright blue against the warm north-western sunset sky. This enabled him to dispense with the conventional nimbus of purely ecclesiastical pictures, and yet achieve an effect of the miraculous by showing, as if by accident, the white evening star, greatly magnified by the composition, just over the head of the Savior.

Briton Riviere (1840-1920) was an Irish artist born in London, England. The son of an artistic father, gave early promise of distinction in the realm of art. At the age of eighteen he exhibited at the Royal Academy, and his pictures became an annual feature at Burlington House after his twenty-sixth year. He was elected an A.R.A. in 1878, and was admitted to full membership in 1881. He is best known as a painter of wild animals, in which field he stands supreme. Even in this branch of art he has successfully introduced the religious element, as may be seen in his popular painting of "Daniel in the Lions' Den" in the Walker Art Gallery.

Temptation of Christ

Title: Temptation of Christ

Artist: Ary Scheffer

Medium: Oil on canvas

Size: 345 x 241 cm

Date: 1859

Location: Musee du Louvre, Paris.

As recorded in the Gospel of Luke 4:5-8 “Then the devil took Jesus and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in an instant. The devil said to Jesus, ‘I will give you all these kingdoms and all their power and glory. It has all been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I wish. If you worship me, then it will all be yours.’ Jesus answered, "It is written in the Scriptures: 'You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.' "

Ordered for the gallery of Luxembourg in 1849, started before 1851 and not yet delivered by 1858, this large canvas occupied the ten last years of the life of Scheffer. He made many adjustments in size and scale to this composition, with exception of the face of Christ. Scheffer’s Christ is confident and regal in his bearing, lording above the devil who, despite his slight resemblance to an angel, scampers about his feet; a decidedly different interpretation of Christ than the social realism of other late 19^th century artists like Kramskoi and Ge.

Ary Scheffer (10 February 1795 - 15 June 1858), French painter of Dutch extraction, was born at Dort on the 10th of February 1795. After the early death of his father, a poor painter, Ary was taken to Paris and placed in the studio of Guérin by his mother, a woman of great energy and character. He was active for almost all his career in Paris, and his work became quite popular in his lifetime, but is now often considered sentimental. After 1846, he ceased to exhibit. His strong ties with the royal family caused him to fall out of favor when, in 1848, the Second Republic came into being. Shut up in his studio, he produced many paintings that were only exhibited after his death.