For centuries, paintings by great European artists have depicted the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ in various forms. While there are paintings of Jesus as old as the 3rd century artists like Fra Angelico of the early renaissance were credited for developing images of Jesus with human beauty. However, Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper is considered the first High Renaissance painting of Jesus.
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Later, Jesus, especially his crucifixion and resurrection, inspired many artists, including surreal and modern, to deal with subject allegorically. Sunday Shillong looks at some of the great works and artists who immortalised Jesus on canvas.
Resurrection of Christ by Raphael
The Resurrection of Christ (1499–1502), also called The Kinnaird Resurrection, is an oil painting on wood by the Italian High Renaissance master Raphael. The work is one of the earliest works of the artist. The painting, which was damaged in an earthquake, is housed in the São Paulo Museum of Art.
The Legend of the True Cross by Piero della Francesca
This is fresco-style painting is among the artist’s most famous works. The painter’s serene and disciplined exploration of perspective had little influence on his contemporaries but had a major contribution to the Italian Renaissance.
The Last Judgment by Michelangelo
The renaissance painter’s fresco covers the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican City. It depicts the second coming of Christ.
There are altogether 300 figures and took the artist nearly four years to finish it.
Madonna and Christ by Giovanni Bellini
Giovanni Bellini is often considered the father of the Venetian Renaissance and his exemplary use of colours and strokes of light ushered in a period of overwhelming creativity in Venice. He was known for his religiously impassioned images of the Madonna and Christ and also his prowess to express the subtleties of human emotions. Bellini was born and died in Venice. During his life, Venice remained an integral player in Mediterranean and even world trade.
Christ of St John of the Cross by Salvador Dali
This is the most popular of all Dali’s religious works. The figure dominates the Bay of Port Lligat. The painting was inspired by a drawing, preserved in the Convent of the Incarnation in Avila in Spain and done by Saint John of the Cross himself. The people beside the boat are derived from a picture by Le Nain and from a drawing by Velazquex for The Surrender of Breda. This work was regarded as banal by an important art critic when it was first exhibited in London. Nevertheless, several years later, it was slashed by a fanatic while it was hanging in Glasgow Museum, proof of its astonishing effect on people.
The body of Jesus taken from the cross by Rembrandt
Crucifixion was not an unusual punishment in those days. The Romans usually left the deceased hanging on the cross as a prey for scavengers. A certain Joseph of Arimathea is granted permission by Pilate to bury the body of Christ. John claims that this Joseph was a secret follower of Jesus.
The Resurrection by Carl Heinrich Bloch
Carl Bloch was a Danish artist in the 19th century. He painted a
series of works on the Life of Christ, which are now housed in the Frederiksborg Palace, Denmark. His paintings would not please art aficionados today – the figures in them are too clean, calm and European. They do not express the gritty reality of Jesus’
life, but rather an ideal. The Resurrection is one of the most important works of Bloch.
