Suicide of Judas and Crucifixion of Christ, plaque from a box. British museum, London. Either anRoman or northern Italian scupltor produced a series of ivory plaques for a small box that recounts the suffereing and triumph of Christ. The narrative beings with Pilate washing his hands, Jesus carrying the cross ont he road to Calvary, and Peter denying Jesus. The second sequence, and the one I would like to place my focus on shows Judas hanging from a tree with a bag of silver spilled open at his feet. The Crucifixion takes place to the right of this scene, and to the left stands Joseph of Arimathea and the Virgin Mary. On the other side, Longinus thrusts a spear into the side of Christ. The series is said to be one of the oldest cycles of Passion scenes preserved today. Presented as a beardless youth, Christ is shown to have a "superhuman imperviousness" to pain. Unrealistically his body, rather than hanging, is displayed with little weight shown. This could be considered an implication of a divine being who as conquered death. Whereas, to the left, Judas's body hangs limp.
The religious sense of this work is profound. The subject matter is nothing but religious, and it speaks powerfully to its viewers. The particular scenes that were chosen, all partiaining to the Passion of Christ, the story is a sad, but beautiful story. The style of sculpture is a strong piece of work, having been carved out of ivory.
No comments:
Post a Comment