The Raising of the Cross
The highlighted person is Rembrandt himself. Why do you think he painted himself in the picture? Why is the other man staring straight at the viewer?
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Urxie |
Rembrandt's Crucifiction - Easter is this Sunday |
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While cruising the channels the other day, I came across an Easter program that mentioned this painting:
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AngelCareOne |
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Note: So sorry the top part copied and pasted in such LARGE print from the blank email I used to compose this post.
Oops.
Having achieved youthful success as a portrait painter, his later years were marked by personal tragedy and financial hardship. Yet his drawings and paintings were popular throughout his lifetime, his reputation as an artist remained high[2] and for twenty years he taught nearly every important Dutch painter.[3] Rembrandt's greatest creative triumphs are exemplified especially in his portraits of his contemporaries, self-portraits and illustrations of scenes from the Bible. The self-portraits form a unique and intimate biography, in which the artist surveyed himself without vanity and with the utmost sincerity.[1] In both painting and printmaking he exhibited a complete knowledge of classical iconography, which he molded to fit the requirements of his own experience; thus, the depiction of a biblical
scene was informed by Rembrandt's knowledge of the specific text, his assimilation of classical composition, and his observations of the Jewish population of Amsterdam.[4] Because of his empathy for the human condition, he has been called
"one of the great prophets of civilization."
Now, on to your specific query: "The highlighted person is Rembrandt himself. Why do you think he painted himself in the picture? Why is the other man
staring straight at the viewer?" Since the author of the following Website can word the explanation far better than I can, I'm going to
"borrow" the author's words and provide the link for you.
In "The Raising of the Cross" (1633), Rembrandt shows the cross of Christ being raised. But this is no simple crucifix scene. Rembrandt shows a dark, moody crowd of people, broken by a spotlight shining on the man who is raising the cross - himself. Next to Rembrandt's face we see the feet of Jesus, brutally pierced by nails, with blood flowing down. Our eyes then travel upward, gazing upon His abused, exposed body. His arms are extended above His head, and His hands are nailed to the cross, covered in the blood by which we are saved. Finally, we see Christ's eyes, cast upwards in desperation and intense pain, but with full submission to the will of God His Father. To the left of Rembrandt we see a man who stares coldly, directly at us, questions deep in his eyes. He seems to be asking, "Cannot you see what is
taking place here? This is an innocent man who is being executed for the sins of mankind. It is YOU who stood right there, driving the nails through His flesh,
mocking Him, and raising the cross."
The message is clear - it is our own sins that put Christ on the cross. Humanity, made in the image of God though tragically fallen, is hopelessly incapable of achieving righteousness, or even desiring it apart from the redeeming work of God in the hearts of those whom He has chosen. In the Old Testament, God saved His elect through faith and imputed righteousness to them. For example, in Romans chapter four, the Apostle Paul explains
that Abraham was in fact not justified through his works, but solely because he believed and followed God, and God credited this to him as righteousness.
Therefore, our righteousness is the righteousness of Christ, which God has written on our account, just as He took our sin and transferred it to Christ's
account. The power of sin and death was conquered by Christ, who died and then rose again, victorious over sin.
"Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced
for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like
sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:4-6 (NIV)
PLEASE READ: On a separate note, I was watching a documentary somewhere between one and three months ago and ... Holy
Cow! I do believe I now know who the Mona Lisa is as pained by Leonardo DaVinci!
Me thinks 'ol Leonardo had one heck of a sense of humor cuz ...
Well, should I put the two Da Vinci paintings on this thread or where would you like
them? And no. They did not mention the Mona Lisa at all. It just hit me like, "Ah Ha!" I dang near fell outta my chair and cannot believe that no
experts have ever made the connection. Well, not to my knowledge they haven't.
Ya wanna see and judge for yourself? If so, where shall I post the two Da Vinci paintings for you to compare? Hey, I'll betcha a
nickel that I'm right.
Seeya. Hugs!
Last Edited By: AngelCareOne
04/12/09 20:14:47.
Edited 6 times.
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