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Dutch 17th century

Title: The Road to Emmaus

Artist: Claes Moeyaert (Dutch, Amsterdam 1591–1655 Amsterdam)

Date: 17th century

Medium: Red chalk

Dimensions: sheet: 5 1/2 x 7 1/8 in. (13.9 x 18.1 cm)

Classification: Drawings

Credit Line: Purchase, Jean A. Bonna Gift, 2006

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Noli me Tangere. Graham Sutherland (1903-1980). 1961. Chichester Cathedral.

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Description taken from Chichester Cathedral site:

Noli Me Tangere (Touch me not) is the title of a painting by Graham Sutherland (1903-1980) displayed on the altar of the Mary Magdalene Chapel at the south-eastern corner of the Cathedral.

This painting is important, not just as a significant piece of modern art, but because it portrays the first realisation by a mortal that Christ had indeed risen from the dead.

The painting, completed in 1961, illustrates the moment described in St John’s gospel, chapter 20, verses 14 to 17. On the first day of the week after Jesus’ crucifixion, Mary Magdalene was standing outside his empty tomb weeping when she saw Jesus standing there. Mistaking Jesus for the gardener, she asked him where they had put the body, and it was only when Jesus spoke that she realised who he was. Jesus’ reply was ‘don’t cling to me, because I have not yet gone up to the Father’. In Latin, the first part of this reply became ‘Noli me tangere’ and this is the moment Sutherland has illustrated.

For more information about the painting, please visit Chichester Cathedral site at www.chichestercathedral.org.uk/visiting/cathedral-plan/delve-deeper-noli-me-tangere

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The Entombment - first half 15th century

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On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 509

Title: The Entombment
Date: first half 15th century
Geography: Made in Nottingham, England
Culture: British
Medium: Alabaster with paint and gilding
Credit Line: The Cloisters Collection, 1925

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Christ Crucified between the Two Thieves: The Three Crosses  -  Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) Dutch 1653

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Description from the Met:
The Three Crosses, one of Rembrandt's finest works in any medium, represents the culmination of his virtuosity as a printmaker. He drew on the copperplate entirely in drypoint which allowed him to fully exploit the velvety areas of burr raised by the drypoint tool as it cut into the copper. When Rembrandt created this impression, he deliberately left ink on the printing plate; it lightly veils the figures standing at the foot of the cross on the right; a thicker layer almost completely covers the bushes along the right edge. By creatively inking the copperplate, Rembrandt in a certain sense painted each impression. Each time he printed the copperplate he created a unique work. He further varied impressions by printing them on different supports; this impression is printed on vellum, which infuses the composition with a warm light. Vellum, less absorbent than paper, holds ink on the surface, softening lines and enhancing the richness of entire effect.

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Christ Carrying the Cross
by El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos) Greek  ca. 1577–87

Description from the Met:
During his long career in Spain, El Greco produced numerous paintings of Christ carrying the cross. The Lehman canvas, arguably his earliest version of the subject, is not a narrative scene: no other figures are represented and the setting is not recognizable. Instead, it is a devotional image of haunting immediacy and resonant with pathos. Christ's willing sacrifice for mankind is expressed through his gentle embrace of the cross and his heavenward gaze.

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 958

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Christ driving the Traders from the Temple by El Greco

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Key facts and description taken from the National Gallery:

El Greco has used theatrical gestures and intense colours to express the chaos and disruption of the Purification of the Temple – the moment that Christ drove out traders selling animals for sacrifice, furious that the temple was being used for commerce. Christ’s anger is shown through his body, arm raised ready to strike; he looks like a spring ready to uncoil.

A sculpture of Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden, to the left of the archway, reinforces the sinfulness of the traders' actions. In contrast, Christ’s apostles stand in front of a relief sculpture showing the Old Testament figure Abraham, who was willing to sacrifice his own son on God’s command.

El Greco painted this subject at least four times, but this is one of the most dramatic versions. In the sixteenth century the episode was seen as a parallel to the cleansing of the Catholic Church through the Counter-Reformation.

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Christ taking Leave of his Mother by Albrecht Altdorfer

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The second in the series is Christ taking leave of his Mother by Albrecht Altdorfer, currently on view at the National Gallery.

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The Temptation of Christ by the Devil (possibly 1129-34) on view at the Met

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The first in our Lent Art Studies is the Temptation of Christ by the Devil from the first half of the 12th century which is on view at Met (click for link).  We hope you will share your comments with us, either on here or in person at church as we study one piece of art each week together, finding meaning during this time of reflection.