Variations on a Theme Part 1

Rachel — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 09:00:37 +0000

Art has the power to teach us something new about the mundane in life. Sometimes art portrays the beautiful, sometimes the ugly. This past fall when I had the opportunity to walk through several museums in the Netherlands and Germany, I came across four paintings that presented the biblical account of the crucifixion of Christ in unexpected or at least different ways. They present four artist perspectives from painters who lived in four different centuries.
Perhaps the oldest Crucifixion image that entranced me while visiting museums last fall was a painting done in 1512 by Hans Baldung, The Crucifixion. I found it in the Gemaldegalerie museum Berlin, Germany. Partially, I was caught off guard by the interpretation of the cross being an actual tree stump instead of a slab of wood. The closer I looked the more I captivated I was in the anguished face of the girl who clung to the foot of the cross. This is most likely a portrayal of Mary Magdalene who is often portrayed in medieval Christian art as a symbol of a penitent sinner. Her emotion and posture attracted me to this particular image.

There was a series of paintings that Rembrandt van Rijn did concerning the life of Christ in the Alte Pinakothek Museum in Munich, Germany. I may mention the series later, but one in the series was of the crucifixion. This painting is interesting because it captures the moment when the cross is hoisted into an upright position. While two thugs push and pull it into place, there is a third figure bracing the cross. The third figure is a self-portrait of Rembrandt. He is placing himself among the others who are crucifying Christ. He is saying that he, like them, is a sinner.

(Rembrandt is in the center near Christ’s feet)

Rachel Steely : Indianapolis Artist : Art Class Instructor for Painting, Photography » Gemaldegalerie

Variations on a Theme Part 1