My prior Art posts can be found HERE.
How do we move away from being a civilization that produces art that causes comments like, “my five year old could make this,” back to being one that creates beauty and inspires deep questions? We must reject modernity and embrace tradition. To embrace tradition, we must first learn about it..
Let’s study art history together.
Christ Before the High Priest
| Artist | Gerard van Honthorst |
|---|---|
| Year | c. 1617 |
| Medium | oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 272 cm × 183 cm (107 in × 72 in) |
| Location | National Gallery, London |
In what is an incredibly serious moment in a piece of religious art, my eyes and my mind are drawn to the source of the work’s illumination. This might be the best representation of fire, in the form of a painting, that I’ve ever seen. It looks real. It looks like truth.
For some context about the scene, let me refer you to the verses it depict
Matthew 26: 59 Now the chief priests and the entire Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, so that they might put Him to death. 60 They did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward. But later on two came forward, 61 and said, “This man stated, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days.’” 62 The high priest stood up and said to Him, “Do You offer no answer for what these men are testifying against You?” 63 But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, “I place You under oath by the living God, to tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64 Jesus *said to him, “You have said it yourself. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
65 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? See, you have now heard the blasphemy; 66 what do you think?” They answered, “He deserves death!”
With that in mind, look at the painting again. Under intense questioning, Christ’s posture is calm and He is well-lit. He seems to be at peace. The High Priest – who is purportedly in charge of this interrogation – is clearly agitated, leaning forward, and much more shadowed (despite sharing the candle flame with Christ.) The effect of the shadow on Caiaphas, cast by the candle, is that it tells us that he is conflicted or perhaps even that he harbors spiritual darkness behind his lit face.
(more on the painting, via wiki)
Christ Before the High Priest is an oil on canvas painting by Dutch artist Gerard van Honthorst, created around 1617. It now hangs in London’s National Gallery. It depicts Jesus Christ being questioned by the High Priest Caiaphas shortly before being sentenced to death.
History
From 1610 to 1620 Gerard van Honthorst stayed and worked in Rome. During this time the Marquis Vincenzo Giustiniani commissioned this painting from Honthorst for his palace’s collection.
Honthorst may have been influenced in his composition by the works of the painter Luca Cambiaso – whose art was also in Giustiniani’s collection – as well as the Italian master Caravaggio.
Christ before the High Priest would go on to have multiple owners:
- Vincenzo Giustiniani’s collection, Rome, 1638–1804
- Lucien Bonaparte‘s collection, Paris, 1804–1820
- Duke of Lucca‘s collection, 1820–1840
- 4th Duke of Sutherland‘s collection, Great Britain, 1840–1913
- The National Gallery, London, 1922
Description
The painting depicts a scene from the canonical gospels concerning the Passion of Jesus, specifically Jesus’s questioning by the Jewish religious authorities.
The gospels describe how, after his initial capture, Jesus was brought before Caiaphas – a high priest in the Jewish Sanhedrin. Honthorst depicts the moment that Caiaphas asks Jesus if he truly claims to be God.
The scene takes place at night. Jesus and Caiaphas are separated by a table upon which a candle provides the only light. These furnishings have been added to the Gospel scene by Honthorst and serve to divide Jesus from Caiaphas physically, just as the two were spiritually divided by Jesus’s claim to be the divine in human form.
Caiaphas is seated behind the table with a book of Mosaic law and points his finger accusingly at Jesus. However, Jesus looks down on Caiaphas with serenity, seemingly unconcerned. His face and body language express the peace and self-control that, according to Gospel testimony, he maintained throughout the interrogation process.
Jesus and Caiaphas are clothed in similar colours – red and white. However, red is more prominent on Caiaphas, whereas Jesus is adorned almost completely in white. This may be an allusion to the figurative language often used in Christianity, where white often represents sinless purity and red blood or sacrifice.
In the background, behind Christ and Caiaphas, are the figures of other high priests. They await judgment and their faces are shrouded in darkness.
For a great review of the painting, please let me direct you to the following:
