Despite this humble entry, the people who have heard of his miracles go wild with excitement and greet him as the Messiah. The Passion Christ's Entry into JerusalemĬhrist prepares for his death by riding a donkey into the city of Jerusalem. Let us briefly sketch the major moments of the Passion, highlighting the major works of the Western art it has called forth:
When the taste for imaginative representations from the Bible became an appetite, the Church found it had at its command one of the most powerful means of reaching the deepest emotions of its members. Inevitably the Church made use of art to bring scenes from the Passion to the many who could not read. Alone among world religions, Christianity defiantly displayed the wasted and twisted dead body of God in its most sacred places.
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While other religions celebrated the invulnerability and power of their gods, the Church focused on the human vulnerability and suffering of Jesus, the sheer fragility of skin and bones under the lash and nail of power. By accepting it, Christ shows the greatest degree of self-sacrifice.Īs Christianity came to dominate the West, the once shameful image of the crucifixion became the central and distinguishing symbol for the new religion. Among ancient Mediterranean peoples crucifixion was considered the most shameful means of torture and execution reserved only for the worst criminals. Jesus comes to see what he must accept in order to redeem sinful mankind: betrayal, slander, public humiliation, brutal torture, and total abandonment. Events and men move with ruthless speed, and an inexorable tragic necessity seems to be at work.
But almost all versions begin with his triumphant entry into Jerusalem a few days before Passover where he is hailed as the messiah by the people and conclude with his Crucifixion where he is mocked and despised a few days later. Episodes and details are drawn from the four separate accounts of Gospels. The Passion as it is traditionally known (from the Latin for sufferings) is the story of the last events of Christ's earthly life. Thus the great rivalry between Leonardo and Michelangelo, Dürer and Grünewald, Bosch and Brueghel, Titian and Tintoretto, and Rubens and Rembrandt to capture the patronage of princes and prelates so that their vision of Christianity could dominate and endure.
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Both artists illustrate the significant moments of the story, as drawn from the four Gospels and from the stories that grew up around these scriptural writings.Īlthough few subsequent artists (with the outstanding exception of Dürer) were so ambitious as to undertake a Passion series with the scope of these two masters, the touchstone of greatness in painting has been the power to add another unforgettable image to those already realized. The Passion is given its first genuinely comprehensive treatments in painting in Giotto's frescoes for the Arena Chapel in Padua, and in Duccio di Buoninsegna's monumental Maestà. For over 400 years, from the time of Giotto to Rembrandt, Western painting is inconceivable without the vision and the stories contained in the Bible, especially in the Gospels.
One of the most salutary but overlooked aspects of this legacy is the influence which the Bible has had on Western art. The devout are often asked to reflect on the relevance of the two thousand year old legacy of Jesus Christ. With the annual approach of the Easter Season, Christians all over the world prepare to celebrate the resurrection of Christ.