Christ Rejected by the Elders in the Temple
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) houses some of Philadelphia’s oldest, most historic and most renowned pieces of artwork in its Landmark Building built in 1876. Naturally, I felt it was my duty to peruse PAFA in hopes of finding a Philadelphian artifact that interested me. I stumbled upon the gigantic 200 x 260 in. (52,000 in2) oil painting, Christ Rejected (by the Elders in the Temple), created by Philadelphian artist of the 18th-19th century, Benjamin West, on the left flank of the uppermost wing.
The top tier of PAFA’s Landmark Building is almost entirely Benjamin West paintings. Directly across from Christ Rejected in symmetrical display is another one of West’s most well known paintings, Death on A Pale Horse. Both paintings are set under massive arches and embellished gold leaf ceilings. The front of the painting is roped off in indication that one should not approach or touch …show more content…
Each layer and highlight raises a question as to what West was trying to portray. In the extreme bottom left corner, the colors are much less focuses, deep browns and shadows reflect an ominous notion and make one wonder, “what is their significance?” But the focus of the painting is three recognizable men in white. In the background of all of these people stand hoards of other people in support of one of the two sides. For a momentous episode in the Bible such as Christ being rejected by the elder Jews of his arena. West being a Philadelphia-area native and the first American to study art abroad, he was able to draw lots of attention to Philadelphia in his
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) houses some of Philadelphia’s oldest, most historic and most renowned pieces of artwork in its Landmark Building built in 1876. Naturally, I felt it was my duty to peruse PAFA in hopes of finding a Philadelphian artifact that interested me. I stumbled upon the gigantic 200 x 260 in. (52,000 in2) oil painting, Christ Rejected (by the Elders in the Temple), created by Philadelphian artist of the 18th-19th century, Benjamin West, on the left flank of the uppermost wing.
The top tier of PAFA’s Landmark Building is almost entirely Benjamin West paintings. Directly across from Christ Rejected in symmetrical display is another one of West’s most well known paintings, Death on A Pale Horse. Both paintings are set under massive arches and embellished gold leaf ceilings. The front of the painting is roped off in indication that one should not approach or touch …show more content…
Each layer and highlight raises a question as to what West was trying to portray. In the extreme bottom left corner, the colors are much less focuses, deep browns and shadows reflect an ominous notion and make one wonder, “what is their significance?” But the focus of the painting is three recognizable men in white. In the background of all of these people stand hoards of other people in support of one of the two sides. For a momentous episode in the Bible such as Christ being rejected by the elder Jews of his arena. West being a Philadelphia-area native and the first American to study art abroad, he was able to draw lots of attention to Philadelphia in his