Almost everyone , living in Bible Belt America, will know the story of Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the cross, and surprisingly, people thought to themselves Jesus' crucifixion would make the church a more enjoyable service to get through. Therefore, the universe brought forth Lamentation by Giotto, Entombment by Raphael, Entombment by Titian, Descent from the Cross by Pontormo, and many more artistic depictions of Jesus dying. In contemporary western society, the idea of finding someone suffering beautifully is alarming. However, the idea of Jesus dying excludes the other half of the story. From a Christian perspective, Jesus was resurrected to save His followers from their sins. The idea of saviors can be beautiful. That is why people take
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It creates a depressing atmosphere. Eco chapter 7, page 186, “In which Beauty was attributed a dignity and an autonomy on par with Good and Wisdom” (Eco et al). Depression is not on par with Good or Wisdom. Good is in hope, hope that Jesus will raise from the dead. Artists depicting a lifeless body gives nothing to the viewer but loss. The viewer can especially sense the feeling of loss in Titian's Entombment. The brightest color appears on Mother Mary in a dark blue cloak, yet her face is shrouded in grief. One of the men in Titian's Entombment has bright red clothes; however, the viewer cannot see his face so he cannot have an identity. It leaves the viewer a mystery, a hole in their brain trying to wrap around who this man could be or what he is feeling. The dark colors take away any hope that the viewer has. Pontormo's Descent from the Cross has the opposite problem. Pontormo's bright palette presents a surreal depiction of Christ's death. Christ's body is too fit to be a man beaten close to death or to be hung on a crucifix (Pontormo). The faces around Christ can be interpreted as either grieving souls or oblivious who don’t know what to do with a dead body. Some expressions display such wistful ignorance, their eyes gaze into nothing. The expressions combined with the bright colors creates the people around Christ as an eccentric caricature. It does not create a sense of …show more content…
Some of the people, therefore appear off-putting expressions or gestures. The painters are incredibly skilled but the simple disproportions take the viewer away from the painting's expression of beauty. Pontormo's Descent from the Cross has an odd man crouching while holding the lower half of Christ and it is not possible he could crouch while holding a grown man on the tips of his toes. Christ's right arm isn't proportional to his torso (Pontormo). Giotto's fresco The Lamentation unintentionally depicts Jesus's disciple with what appears his hand coming out of his neck
It creates a depressing atmosphere. Eco chapter 7, page 186, “In which Beauty was attributed a dignity and an autonomy on par with Good and Wisdom” (Eco et al). Depression is not on par with Good or Wisdom. Good is in hope, hope that Jesus will raise from the dead. Artists depicting a lifeless body gives nothing to the viewer but loss. The viewer can especially sense the feeling of loss in Titian's Entombment. The brightest color appears on Mother Mary in a dark blue cloak, yet her face is shrouded in grief. One of the men in Titian's Entombment has bright red clothes; however, the viewer cannot see his face so he cannot have an identity. It leaves the viewer a mystery, a hole in their brain trying to wrap around who this man could be or what he is feeling. The dark colors take away any hope that the viewer has. Pontormo's Descent from the Cross has the opposite problem. Pontormo's bright palette presents a surreal depiction of Christ's death. Christ's body is too fit to be a man beaten close to death or to be hung on a crucifix (Pontormo). The faces around Christ can be interpreted as either grieving souls or oblivious who don’t know what to do with a dead body. Some expressions display such wistful ignorance, their eyes gaze into nothing. The expressions combined with the bright colors creates the people around Christ as an eccentric caricature. It does not create a sense of …show more content…
Some of the people, therefore appear off-putting expressions or gestures. The painters are incredibly skilled but the simple disproportions take the viewer away from the painting's expression of beauty. Pontormo's Descent from the Cross has an odd man crouching while holding the lower half of Christ and it is not possible he could crouch while holding a grown man on the tips of his toes. Christ's right arm isn't proportional to his torso (Pontormo). Giotto's fresco The Lamentation unintentionally depicts Jesus's disciple with what appears his hand coming out of his neck