Crucifixion Jesus Art Analysis

1364 Words3 Pages

ARTH Option 2

Jesus, one of the most influential religious messiahs, has been romanticized throughout religious history. Even today he is still an important figure to religious people all over the world. In about 420-430 AD, The Crucifixion and the suicide of Judas (either created in Rome or Southern Gaul) was made to give a representation of the death of both Christ and Juda. During the reign of Pope Sixtus III classical revival flourished. Amid this epoch, many other pieces were created such as Ascension and the Holy Women at Christ’s Tomb. Both of the mentioned pieces of art were made of ivory. These artworks were created to convey different stories of the bible which are currently in the British Museum. The image of The Crucifixion …show more content…

My assumption is that the exact story couldn't have been created on the ivory because there was not enough surface space to work with. Likewise, ivory is expensive. The artist had to jump straight to the point in order to get the image across without wasting precious materials.

Moving on from Juda, I notice that the tree seems to carry a symbolic meaning as well. In the top left-hand corner, a bird is feeding its offspring, which is identified as a reference to the eternal life promised by Christ(Marylin Stokstad 35). This message was not written in Mathew’s passage. I assume this was an artistic element the artist incorporated in order to lift people's spirits when looking at this piece instead of causing negative …show more content…

John or Joseph of Arimathea based on the beard on his face (Marylin Stokstad 35). Symbolism is truly depicted through these two character’s faces. They both seem to be looking down and frowning while facing the direction of the cross. This depicts a feeling of sorrow. I assume this was done with the intention of influencing religious subordination amongst the common people. A ‘Jesus died for us’ message is portrayed through their faces. It is stated in Mathew’s passage that there were two Mary’s that stood by the cross. It isn't identified which Mary is in this art piece. “Among them were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother and sons of Zeebedee.”(Mathew 27.55) Again we find that this art piece is merely a symbolical rendition of the written text. The male character must surely be portraying Joseph of Arimathaea, the pious Christian who would later place the body of the savior in his own tomb. “When it was evening, there came a rich man from Armathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; then Pilate ordered it to be given to him.”(Mathew 27.57-58). After analyzing Mathew’s passage, I realized the male character could not be St. John because he is not even discussed in the text. Because the intentions of the artist’s work are unclear, I can only postulate it’s true meaning. On

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