The Resurrection of Christ Depicted in Paintings

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Happy Easter Monday!!!

 

I thought about doing a blog all about paintings of rabbits and eggs. Well, not really. As it’s Easter, what I did do was collect a few beautiful paintings of the resurrection of Christ. Let’s have a look at how each artist represented the scene.

 

So let’s get started.

Dieric Bouts, "Resurrection of Christ," c.1455, distemper on linen, 35 3/8 x 29 1/4 in, Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, California
Dieric Bouts, “Resurrection of Christ,” c.1455, distemper on linen, 35 3/8 x 29 1/4 in, Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, California

 

A stern dark-haired Christ stands looking out intently at us the viewer, his feet firmly on the ground. Unusually, Christ is draped in red fabric rather than the more typical white, red representing both kingliness and love and sacrifice. He stands surrounded by two sleeping guards, a startled one, and an angel. The backdrop is naturalistic with a beautiful sense of perspective while the foreground appears as a manicured lawn, as if it were a stage on which the performance is acted.

In the far distance are the women (including Mary Magdalene) who will arrive to find the stone rolled away from the tomb. They carry spices with which to anoint the body, totally unprepared for what they will find. (Mark 16:3  – They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”)

Bouts has portrayed the tomb as a marble sarcophagus rather than a more natural tomb with stone boulder blocking it.

As an aside, you can see how dirty this painting is from the top piece of the canvas where it had been protected by the frame. Look at how blue the sky would have been! What must the rest of the painting have looked like?

(If you click on the link of the museum above, you will be able to look at the painting in great detail!)

 

 

Piero della Francesca, "Resurrection," c.1463, fresco, 89 x 79 in, Museo Civico, Sansepolcro, Tuscany, Italy
Piero della Francesca, “Resurrection,” c.1463, fresco, 89 x 79 in, Museo Civico, Sansepolcro, Tuscany, Italy

 

Christ stands, foot resting on the side of the sarcophagus, in the pose of a triumphant conqueror setting his flag in the ground. Again, he is draped in a reddish colour rather than white. This time, there is an obvious halo around his head.

All four guards are still sleeping, although the one on the left looks as if he is waking. They lie in compressed space in front of the tomb, so shallow that is difficult to imagine how they all fit and where their limbs fit. (You cannot see any legs for the soldier holding the lance.) Their poses are mostly unrealistic for sleep so you can see how the artist uses artistic license to make the composition work. As naturalistic as the background first appears, notice the trees on the left are bare while the ones on the right are covered in leaves. Christ’s death and resurrection are symbolized by the renewal of spring.

I have always enjoyed this painting. The colours, the positioning of the figures, the background, they all make for decorative painting which appears to be more about the appearance and formal qualities than the story being told.

Read more about the painting in a post at Daily Art Display and also here. Aldous Huxley believed the painting to be the greatest painting. Read more about that here.

 

 

Giovanni Bellini, "Resurrection of Christ," 1475-79, oil on panel transferred to canvas, 58 1/4 x 50 in, Staatliche Museen, Berlin, Germany
Giovanni Bellini, “Resurrection of Christ,” 1475-79, oil on panel transferred to canvas, 58 1/4 x 50 in, Staatliche Museen, Berlin, Germany

 

In this painting, a slim seemingly untouched Christ has risen from the tomb. In this painting, he looks towards heaven. Like the della Francesca’s Christ, he carries the banner of a red cross on white ground representing Christ’s victory over death. Unlike the painting above, he now appears wrapped in white, the colour of the divine.

The women approach as two guards look up in surprise. Another guard still sleeps as does another man, almost naked who apparently, from my research, symbolizes paganism and the overcoming of it by Christianity. (Interesting and a little ironic is that the word Easter is thought to have come from Eostre, a goddess related to spring and the celebration of rebirth and renewed life – a perfect fit!)

Three women approach the tomb but only one (Mary Magdalene) observes what has happened. Notice the rabbit (glad to get one in at least!) that symbolizes Springtime while the raptor symbolizes death and Christ’s overcoming of it. Again we see a naturalistic landscape with many features that tell more of the story. Nevertheless, there is a strange shift in perspective between the top of the tomb and the background field. Can you see that?

 

 

Another painting I have always enjoyed is this one by Botticelli:

Sandro Botticelli (or workshop of), "Resurrection of Christ," 1490, tempera on canvas, 52 x 41 3/4 in, formerly Beaverbrook Gallery Canada
Sandro Botticelli (or workshop of), “Resurrection of Christ,” 1490, tempera on canvas, 52 x 41 3/4 in, formerly Beaverbrook Gallery Canada

 

Here the rising Christ, wrapped in white, takes up the full height of the painting, even bending slightly to fit. His halo is a beautiful gold and red and his banner ripples in the breeze. The rigidity of the sarcophagus contrasts with the rocks behind. Like della Francesca’s work, there is a stylized quality about the whole. There is a serenity and a simplicity to the painting that is difficult to resist!

(Apparently this painting was among a few that were sold by the Beaverbrook Art Gallery  – click here and here to read about it – but I have been unable to locate it’s present whereabouts.)

 

 

Pietro Perugino, "Resurrection of Christ," 1502-6, tempera on wood, 10 5/8 x 18 in, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Pietro Perugino, “Resurrection of Christ,” 1502-6, tempera on wood (the base of an altarpiece), 10 5/8 x 18 in, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

 

Once again, Christ stands firmly on a marble sarcophagus surrounded by four guards, three sleeping and one alert in a position of either stunned indecision or about the run. There is a distant landscape that gives us little information – our focus is totally on the figures in the foreground. Despite being less slim with a broad chest, Christ’s rounded hips give him a rather feminine quality. He is back in red fabric and unusually, the banner he carries  is pure red as well.

The width of the painting is unusual until we realize that it is part of the base of an altarpiece. (The other four paintings of the predella are in the Art Institute of Chicago.)

 

 

Matthias Grunewald, "Resurrection" ( part of the Isenheim Altarpiece), c.1516, oil on panel, 106 x 60 1/4 in, Unterlinden Museum, Colmar, France
Matthias Grunewald, “Resurrection” ( part of the Isenheim Altarpiece), c.1516, oil on panel, 106 x 60 1/4 in, Unterlinden Museum, Colmar, France

 

A blonde Christ, gently smiling, both arms raised and banner free and swirled with fabric, rises from a marble tomb around which the soldiers sleep (although one appears to have his armed raised against the light). The glory of the resurrection is highlighted by the fireball of light surrounding Christ which contrasts with the darkness beyond. This painting, part of the many panelled Isenheim Altarpiece, appears to me to be a very Northern European interpretation of the event.

 

 

Paolo Veronese, "The resurrection of Christ," c.1570, oil on canvas, 53 1/2 x 41 in, Gemaldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden
Paolo Veronese, “The resurrection of Christ,” c.1570, oil on canvas, 53 1/2 x 41 in, Gemaldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden

 

Christ, wrapped in a glorious Venetian red with arms raised and free of a pennant, rises above his sarcophagus looking heavenward (rather than out at us or in inward contemplation). Six guards surround the tomb but here four have been startled into wakefulness as two others sleep. Along with the dramatic diagonal created by the landscape formations, all the actions of the figures increase the tensions of the picture.  There is a feeling a real place with rocks, trees, and clouds. The space in which the figures are positioned is small but still, they sit in it, in perspective.

Strangely, in the background, an angel and two women appear to be peering into a different tomb. It seems Veronese was incorporating another part of the story into the painting i.e.. when the women arrive at the tomb to find it empty.

 

 

El Greco, "Resurrection of Christ," 1597-1600, oil on canvas, 108 1/4 x 50 in, Museo nacional del Prado, Madrid, Spain
El Greco, “Resurrection of Christ,” 1597-1600, oil on canvas, 108 1/4 x 50 in, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, Spain

 

A pale elongated (typical El Greco style) Christ, sporting a red cloak and carrying a billowing white banner (the tip of which conveniently conceals Christ’s genitals), rises above the awakening and confused group of soldiers. It’s pretty amazing how El Greco managed to fit so many figures into a tall thin space! The figure in the foreground falls out of the picture towards us. It reminds me of one of Caravaggio’s paintings of the conversion of St Paul. The distorted and angular figures painted in cool colours also reminds me of some of Picasso’s work.

Click here to read a long and fascinating article by Jonathan Jones on El Greco.

 

 

Peter Paul Rubens, "The Resurrection of Christ," c.1611/12, oil on panel (centre panel of triptych), 54 1/4  x 38 1/2  in, Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp
Peter Paul Rubens, “The Resurrection of Christ,” c.1611/12, oil on panel (centre panel of triptych), 54 1/4 x 38 1/2 in, Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedrall (Cathedral of Our Lady), Antwerp

 

A muscular and solid Christ emerges from the cave, white fabric swirling over his leg to cover his genitalia. The pennant is now red again and there is a starburst of light around head. Christ looks out nonchalantly while the soldiers, in various states of dress, cower and move away in fright and confusion. Once again they are compressed into a small space.

Interestingly, we have a Christ more earth bound. Perhaps this is due to the objection that came out of the Council of Trent (1545–1563) against floating depictions, and which demanded a return to the older idea of Christ’s feet firmly on the ground, either stepping out of a sarcphagus, or standing upright, holding a banner.

 

 

That’s almost it. I was going to stick with Renaissance and Baroque paintings but couldn’t resist adding one more.

Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, "The Morning of the Resurrection," 1886, oil on wood, 33 1/4 x 59 1/2 in, Tate Gallery
Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, “The Morning of the Resurrection,” 1886, oil on wood, 33 1/4 x 59 1/2 in, Tate Gallery

 

Here we have a quiet Christ, in profile rather than front-on, wrapped in a dark fabric and approaching Mary Magdalene who looks back at him with an expression of uncertainty. Mary, Christ and the two angels are the only figures – there are no soldiers. Mary hangs on to the edge of the cave and the angels sit on the edge of the tomb. The serenity of the scene is underlined by the line of figures quietly posed almost like statues. This is a painting of its time ….as are all the other paintings.

 

 

That’s it!!! Next time I’ll show you more of my work as we approach the opening of my solo show 16th May at Gallery 8 on Salt Spring Island.

 

You know I’d love to hear from you. Please add a comment to the blog.

 

Hope you had a delightful Easter weekend 🙂

~ Gail

 

 

 

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6 thoughts on “The Resurrection of Christ Depicted in Paintings”

  1. Hi Gail,
    WOW, I really love this timely blog. Thanks for adding so much to my own Easter celebration!
    Sally

  2. Ralph Bischoff

    Enjoyed this the first time around. Even more so this time! Never could decide on a “favourite” but I am always drawn to the schisms between the paintings and the “story” that they are supposedly providing instruction to an illiterate population. Particularly the role of the women- which only seems to come to the fore in the last 200 years.

    1. Thanks so much Ralph! Glad you pointed out the schism between painting and story. I’d love if you said more!

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