The Passion of Jesus Christ and the Paschal Mystery were a major source of inspiration for the great masters of art …

3. The Passion of Jesus Christ and the Paschal Mystery were a major source of inspiration for the great masters of art …

4. The Passion of Jesus Christ

5. Works of art by masters such as Leonardo da Vinci, Fra Angelico, Giotto, Caravaggio …

7. The Last Supper.
Matthew 26: 21 and as they were eating, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.

8. The moment after Jesus announces that one of his apostles will betray him ...
All twelve apostles have different reactions to the news, with various degrees of anger
and shock:
Bartholomew, James, and Andrew are surprised,
Peter wears an expression of anger,
John appears to swoon and lean towards Peter,
Thomas is upset; the raised index finger foreshadows his incredulity,
James the Greater looks stunned,
Philip appears to be requesting some explanation,
Thaddeus and Matthew are turned toward Simon, to find out if he has any answer.
Judas Iscariot is in shadow is clutching a small bag.
Leonardo da Vinci
The Last Supper
La Cène
1495-1498
Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan.Couvent dominicain de Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan

10. Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Matthew 26: 36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over
there and pray.”

11. Christ prays before a group of cherubs who hold up the instruments
of his torture and death.
His disciple Judas leads a large band of soldiers down from Jerusalem to arrest him.
Meanwhile his other disciples sleep.
Andrea Mantegna
Agony in the Garden
L'Agonie dans le jardin
1455-1456
National Gallery, London

14. The Agony in the Garden.
Matthew 26: 39 Going a little farther, He fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me.
Yet not as I will, but as You will.”

15. Christ kneeling on the Mount of Olives in prayer ...
an angel from heaven holds the Eucharistic chalice, a prefiguration of the Passion;
the disciples Peter, James and John sleeping nearby,
Judas, visible just beyond the river, leading a group of soldiers.
Giovanni Bellini
The Agony in the Garden
L'Agonie dans le jardin
1459-1465
National Gallery, London

18. The Arrest of Christ.
Mark 14: 44 Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The One I kiss is the man; arrest Him and lead Him away securely.”
45 Going directly to Jesus, he said, “Rabbi!” and kissed Him …

19. Torches shine out among the sticks and halberds against the blue of the sky …
The throngs of people crowd into the centre, towards Christ, who is betrayed
by Judas' kiss.
Surrounded and hemmed in by numerous faces, the profiles of Christ and Judas
almost collide.
The two look at one another, the one with dignity and seriousness, the other full
of malice.
Peter cuts off the ear of Malchus, a servant of the High Priest.
Giotto di Bondone
Kiss of Judas
Le Baiser de Judas
1305
Chapelle Scrovegni, Padoue

23. The Denial of Saint Peter.
Matthew 26: 74 At that he began to curse and swear to them, “ I do not know the man!” And immediately a rooster crowed. 75 Then
Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went outside
and wept bitterly …

24. On a very dark night with deep shadows ...
a soldier wearing a helmet and armor,
a maid her face obscured by the shadow
and
St Peter who holds both hands against his chest in a gestion of confirmation.
The pointing finger of the soldier and two fingers of the woman allude to the three
accusations and to Peter’s three denials.
Caravaggio, Le Caravage
The Denial of Saint Peter
Le reniement de Saint Pierre
1610
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

27. Sanhedrin trial of Jesus.
"Thou hast said" ...

28. A crowd of helmets and anonymous faces …
Caiaphas in an attitude of wrath and indignation at the words of Jesus: with his hands
on his breast he tears his red robes
... To the left Peter again denies knowing Jesus.
Duccio di Buoninsegna
Christ Before Caiaphas
Le Christ devant Caïphe
1308-1311
Museo dell'Opera Metropolitana del Duomo, Siena

31. Christ Crowned with Thorns.
Mark 15: 17 They dressed Him in a purple robe, twisted together a crown of thorns, and set it on His head.

32. A brutal scene, in which Christ's tormentors twist the crown onto his head with their canes …
a Trinitarian triangle, formed by the pattern of the canes, to the right of the head of Christ;
a cane lies unused on the foremost step, still, shadow less and deadly;
a statue of emperor Tiberius suggests that it all happened with Roman approval.
Titian, Titien
The Crowning with Thorns
Le couronnement d’épines du Christ
1542-1543
Musée du Louvre, Paris

35. Christ Crowned with Thorns.

36. The contrast between the brutality of the tormentors and the serene Christ …
Christ's torturers were often referred to as savage beasts, which may explain
why the man at the top right appears to wear a spiked dog collar.
Hieronymus Bosch
Christ Crowned with Thorns, Christ Mocked
Le Couronnement d'épines
1510
National Gallery, London

39. Ecce Homo.
John 19: 5 Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!

40. Jesus stripped and brought before the people by the members of the Roman council,
who are flanked by soldiers.
The people mock and jeer Jesus, who wears a Crown of Thorns.
Hieronymus Bosch, Jérôme Bosch
Ecce Homo
1475-1485
Städel Museum, Frankfurt

43. The Flagellation of Jesus.

44. An "enigmatic little painting“ …
an composition complex and unusual, and its iconography has been the subject of
widely differing theories
Two scenes, separated by the column supporting the temple in which
the Flagellation of Christ is taking place.
On the right are three figures, arranged in a semi-circle; their identity is not certain.
Piero della Francesca
Flagellation of Christ
La flagellation du Christ
1460
Galleria Nazionale delle Marche, Urbino

47. Christ carrying the cross.
John 19: 17 And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha.

48. On a dark background, 17 figures surround Christ carrying his cross ...
the impenitent thief sneers against three men who are mocking him,
the penitent thief with very pale skin, being confessed by a horribly ugly monk …
The bottom left corner shows Veronica with the holy shroud, with her eyes half-open
and the face looking back.
Jheronimus Bosch, Jérôme Bosch
Christ Carrying the Cross
Le Portement de croix
1510-1535
Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent

51. Christ on the Cross between the Two Thieves.
Luke 23: 33 And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on
the right hand, and the other on the left.

52. a cracked rocky plateau on Golgotha
At the foot of Christ's cross lies the skull of Adam, the first man.
According to legend, Adam's grave was at Calvary and was exposed
by the earthquake when Christ died.
Andrea Mantegna
The Crucifixion
Crucifixion
1457-1460
Musée du Louvre, Paris

56. Christ on the Cross.
Matthew 27:45 From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. 46About the ninth hour Jesus cried out
in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”…

57. The transcendent moments before death, when Christ sublimated his physical pain
and commended his spirit to God ...
storm clouds,
the cross atop Golgotha,
and
against the dark background the tortured body of Christ and his suffering
El Greco, Le Greco
Christ on the Cross
Le Christ en Croix
vers 1600-1610
Getty Center, J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

60. Death on the cross.
Matthew 27: 50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. 51 At that moment the curtain of the
temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many
holy people who had died were raised to life.

61. Christ's dying body is distorted by the torture of the cross; the thorns of the scourges
stick in the festering wounds which cover the whole figure.
Mary fainting in the arms of St John the Evangelist,
St Mary Magdalene with her vessel of ointments,
St John the Baptist with the lamb pouring out its blood into the chalice
of the Holy Communion.
Matthias Grünewald
Isenheim Altarpiece , The Crucifixion
Retable d’Issenheim, Crucifixion
1512-1516
Musée Unterlinden, Colmar

65. Descent from the Cross.
John 19: 39 And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes,
about an hundred pound weight.

66. The body of Jesus has already been removed from the Cross,
and
is received by two elderly men, the bearded Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus ...
Christ's body is almost immaculate apart from his wounds; the holes in his hand
and feet, the blood on his forehead from his crown of thorns, and the cut inflicted
by a Roman spear.
The skull on the foreground reminds us that we are looking at Golgotha,
the Mount of Skulls.
Rogier Van der Weyden
The Descent from the Cross
La Descente de Croix
1435
Museo del Prado, Madrid

69. Pietá.

70. Mary cloaked in a robe of black is mourning the death of her son whom she holds
to her chest …
Mary's eyes are full of sorrow, most likely she is accusing both the heavens
and the earth for the pain she and her son has suffered.
This interpretation of Mary is different from Michelangelo's Pietà or many other versions,
where Mary is offering her child to the world.
This painting was inspired by the death of Bouguereau's eldest son, George.
William-Adolphe Bouguereau
Pièta
1876
Private collection, collection particulière

73. The Entombment of Christ.
Mark 15: 46 So Joseph bought a linen cloth, took down the body of Jesus, wrapped it in the cloth, and placed it in a tomb that had
been cut out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb.

74. Considered one of Caravaggio's greatest masterpieces.
Caravaggio did not really portray the Burial in the traditional way,
inasmuch as Christ is not shown at the moment when he is laid in the tomb,
but rather when, in the presence of the holy women, he is laid by Nicodemus
and John on the Anointing Stone, that is the stone with which the sepulchre
will be closed.
Around the body of Christ are the Virgin, Mary Magdalene, John, Nicodemus
and Mary of Cleophas, who raises her arms and eyes to heaven in a gesture
of high dramatic tension.
Caravaggio, Le Caravage
The Entombment of Christ
La Mise au tombeau
1603-1604
Pinacoteca Vaticana, Vatican City

77. The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb.
Luke 23: 56 And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.

78. Christ is shown with three visible wounds; on his hand, side and feet.
His strands of hair "look as if they are breaking through the surface
of the painting".
Above the body, angels holding instruments of the Passion bear an inscription
with the Latin words IESVS·NAZARENVS·REX·IVDÆORVM" (Jesus of Nazareth,
King of the Jews).
(The panel has attracted fascination and praise since it was created.
The Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky was captivated by the work.)
Hans Holbein the Younger, Hans Holbein le Jeune
The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb
Le Corps du Christ mort dans la tombe
1520-1522
Kunstmuseum, Basel

81. Christ's descent into Limbo.

82. An vision of Hell, its eternal darkness broken by Christ's dazzling entry …
We see him, in the centre of the painting and in a halo of light, pushing the heavy
door of Limbo while brandishing the standard of redemption.
When he came to the edge of darkness like some splendid, terrible raider,
the impious infernal legions, terrified as they gazed on him, began to ask:
‘Whence is he, so strong, so terrible, so splendid, so noble? . . . Who then is this,
who comes to our gates so boldly, and not only has no fear of our torments
but also frees others from our chains?- Jacobus de Voragine, The Golden Legend, 1260.
Hieronymus Bosch, Jerôme Bosch, Follower of ,Suiveur de
Christ in Limbo
Le Christ aux limbes
1575
Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis

86. Resurrection of Christ.
Matthew 28:2 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, rolled away the stone,
and sat on it.

87. Christ comes out of his tomb, whose lid pivots under the action of an angel,
and makes the gesture of blessing ...
the sun has just risen over the Holy City,
three crucifixes surmount Golgotha,
on a small path in the background, three holy women carry vases of herbs,
of the four sleeping soldiers, two wake up, one of them wears a helmet
in which Christ is reflected.
Hans Memling
Triptych of the Resurrection, central panel The Resurrection
Triptyque de la Résurrection, panneau central la Résurrection
1490
Musée du Louvre, Paris

90. Noli me Tangere.
John 20: 17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers
and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ”

91. Mary Magdalene has been weeping after discovering that the tomb is empty …
A figure appears.
At first she mistakes him for a gardener.
Suddenly realizing who it is, she goes to embrace him.
But he moves away, telling her not to touch him - literally Noli Me Tangere.
Fra Angelico
Noli me tangere
1438
Museum of San Marco, Florence

94. Noli me Tangere …
Calvary where, unusually, the artist has shown more than three crosses.
Two angels in the interior of the tomb, which radiates an ethereal light.
Saints Peter and John striding towards the city of Jerusalem in order to announce
their discovery of the empty tomb.
Mary Magdalene pivots dramatically, her right hand outstretched as though
to prevent collision with the man before her.
Christ in turn holds out both arms to stop her progress, seemingly in an attempt
to soothe her before the moment of recognition.
(The result is a graceful pas de deux.)
Hans Holbein the Younger, Hans Holbein le Jeune
Noli me tangere
1526-1528
Royal Collection, Hampton Court

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