I've always wanted to paint the crucifixion of Christ, a painting that's been done a million times. I've wanted to do it a little different than I've seen it before. Imagine a scene in your mind, something tragic that happened to you - a car accident, a sudden death in the family, a close-encounter with death. There are some details that you can remember quite vivid, while other details escape. They're fuzzy portions of your memory. This painting is of a very tragic event that many witnessed. I'm sure that if we were to go back in time and view this moment, after awhile, there'd be images that would be rather unclear in our mind. All of the black, grey, purple, and blue blotches of paint represent this. The sky darkened according to scripture, as it is depicted here. As Christ's body became limp, and the blood poured from His side, I'm sure there were details that may have been lost - faces in the crowd, rocks on the ground, a bird passing by.
In this painting, Christ is utterly humiliated. His body is completely naked. I know to some that may be disrespectful, but how much more disrespectful was it for His own people to rip the clothes from His body and the Romans to hang Him on the cross? The stripes He bore pour blood from His limp body, and His hair dangles silently. I deliberately painted Christ's arms longer than they should be. I wanted to really stress Him stretching His arms as far as they could go, so if they seem anatomically incorrect, that's because they are. The painting is in oil, and is 36x24.
No comments:
Post a Comment