Art Every Day - Easter Exhibition

For our special exhibition today, it felt only fitting to bring together a little collection of works from across art history that have been directly inspired by the story of Easter.

However while each of these paintings tell a religious story, I do always like to say as a reminder that this is not the only lens through which we can appreciate these pieces.

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Of course, Art has often been fairly synonymous with spirituality - hence we find that even the very oldest painting and sculptures in the world are often devoted to various saints or deities.

And particularly in the art world since The Byzantine era or into the early Renaissance - Christian narratives have been central to the tradition of western art. (In fact, I cannot think of a single great painter from Michelangelo to Matisse who has not, at some point, turned their hand to depicting a religious inspired artwork - even if as only through studying the art of a past master)

But, at the same time, great art always has the ability to take on a life of its own too - often transcending the very subject it was first inspired by.

Thus, even someone with no religious affiliations whatsoever can still find themselves extremely moved by the sheer drama or the deeply human emotion that can be found in works such as this.

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1. Antonio Ciseri - Ecce Homo (Behold the Man) - 1871

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2. Giovanni Bellini - Agony in the Garden - 1459

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3. Caravaggio - The taking of Christ - 1602

(Note the figure holding the lantern on the far right of the picture as we view it . . . believed to be a self portrait of the artist himself.)

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In the story of Easter, we find so many dramatic elements.

From hope and courage, to anger, betrayal, doubt, fear, grief, and unimaginable suffering. . . it is no wonder why artists have found such endless depths of inspiration here.

Yet while the paintings we are featuring today are all essentially designed to bring life to a story, they also offer us just as much in terms of connecting to these individual artists too.

We see how creative genius can approach the same narrative from such wildly different ways - from Ciseri’s theatrical Ecce Homo, to Rembrandt’s brooding etchings or Caravaggio’s irreplicable “Chiarascuro”.

And, at the same time, we see again how art is always a deeply personal experience too. A source of faith and devotion, of course . . . but equally, a source of reflection, introspection, and sheer emotion too.

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I do hope you will all enjoy this small selection here today.

And to those of you who do choose to mark this time of year - I wish you all a very happy Easter.

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4. Gerard van Honthorst - Christ before the high priest - 1617

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5. Rembrandt van Rijn - Etching of Christ crucified between two thieves

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6. Peter Paul Rubens - Descent from the cross - 1614

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7. Vincent van Gogh - Pieta (after Delacroix) - 1889

(Painted during his time in the Saint Remy Asylum - this work was based on a lithograph copy of a similarly titled work by one of Vincent’s artistic heroes, Eugene Delacroix.)

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8. El Greco - The Holy Trinity - 1579

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9. Eugene Delacroix - Entombment of Christ - 1820

(Note: similar to van Gogh copying Delacroix above - this work is actually Delacroix himself copying one of his own artistic heroes; and is based heavily on a composition from Titian)

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10. Michelangelo Buonarotti - Two drawings of the risen Christ

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