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Created: March 14, 2004
Latest Update: March 14, 2004
jeannecurran@habermas.org
takata@uwp.edu

Art and The Christian Cross

Site Copyright: Jeanne Curran and Susan R. Takata and Individual Authors, March 2004.
"Fair use" encouraged.

This piece was prompted by an art history site on the Internet: The Painters of Central Italy by Haldane Macfall. Scroll down about an inch for Martini's painting of Christ Bearing His Cross: http://www.historypainting.com/img/Martini64.jpg Original source URL.

SIMONE MARTINI 1283 - 1344
SIENESE SCHOOL
"CHRIST BEARING HIS CROSS"
(LOUVRE)

Christ, preceded by the executioner, soldiers, and two children, is bearing His Cross to Calvary, He is attended by a large crowd, in which may be recognised the Virgin Mary, in blue robes, supported by St. John ; St. Mary Magdalene in red, with her long hair falling over her shoulders, raises her hands in grief.
Painted in tempera on panel. 10 in. x 4 in. (0.25 x 0.10).

Discussion Questions

1. With Mel Gibson's Passion just having earned over $200 million in our theatres, we don't need to ask if the representation of Christ suffering is powerful as an image. But we do need to ask why the visual is so powerful. Why is the visually supported retelling of a story known by most of us for 2000 years provocative and compelling when retold?

   Consider cinematic and theatrical developments and sophistication in recent decades. And consider that virtual reality has gained enormous acceptance. Look at the virtual game market.

   Consider the aphorism that a picture is worth a thousand words. Consider your own reactions to the visual.

   Consider that much of the current visual trend dwells on the haptic function of the eye. Not only do we see, but the presentation makes what we see almost tactile. The eye becomes and instrument of both sight and touch. (Reference: Deleuze)

2. Compare the effect of Martini's Christ Bearing His Cross with the effect you have either experienced or heard about to Mel Gibson's version of the same subject matter.

   Consider Martini's use of posturing and facial expressions to convey the pain and suffering of the scene. Consider Gibson's actual moving portrayal. Consider that clothing is not torn, that blood does not drip, that blows are not in fact landed in Martini's version. Consider the actions sequences of the same event as described in Gibson's version.

   Consider the effect of color. Red is a warm or hot color. Blue the traditional cool color associated with the Virgin. In Mantini's version Christ wears red, the Virgin wears red under her blue cape (look at the lower portion of her dress), Mary Magdalene wears red, as does the young woman next to her. Is the red a cool or warm red? Does that affect the overall effect of joy or sadness, of hope or despair, of reaction or resignation?

   
   Altering the colors of Martini's Christ Bearing His Cross

   Compare your feelings to this recolored version of Martini's painting. Copy the image of Martini's painting onto your own computer. Then access the image in Paint or some other image program on your own computer. Try changing the colors. Develop an awareness of how colors affect you. If you find a color combination that really works for some feeling, or if you alter the painting even further by redrawing it, and it pleases you, send it in to us and we'll all share it.

   Another Example:

   http://www.historypainting.com/img/fraangelo72.jpg Original source URL.

   

   FRA ANGELICO 1387 - 1455
   "VIRGIN AND CHILD"
   (UFFIZI)

   "Here we see the gentle friar's simple faith treated with childlike simplicity; and it will be noticed that the Child is still treated as a manikin, not as an infant."

   Discussion Questions

3. Compare and consider the effect of coloration. Try changing the coloration on a simple paint program. What does this tell us about the effect of the visual in the images we see around us? Consider that it might be easier to be happy and adoring with warm colors, easier to be depressed and angry surrounded by cool colors. Consider the brightness of the color.

4. What effect do you find in the portrayal of the child as a small person instead of an infant?

   Consider that the child as manikin resembles Christ as King far more than does the helpless infant, future unforetold.

5. What aspect of time does that show?

   Consider that by showing the child as manikin we fast forward to the years when more of his story is known. Yet we retain the story of his birth by the pictorial context in which it is placed.

6. Why would we bother to change colors, look at the paintings so closely, wonder about the compression of time?

   Consider that as we make each of these connections we involve more than just the eye, more than just the visual sense. We reflect, we experiment with our own feelings, we may manipulate and touch. And with each of these we make connections in the apperceptive mass that will aid us in recalling these visual works. They become in a sense ours; the author, the painter disappears, and they go more deeply into that knowledge which is embedded in our uniqueness.

   To the extent that we interact with the painting, the painting and its message goes more deeply into our consciousness, and even our unconscious. The painting is still valued when we react with passivity, but it will be less memorable, be less attached in personal ways to the foundations of our personal knowledge. Does this help answer the question why some of us from Dewey on to the present advocate interactive learning?