Lavinia Fontana’s painting Christ with the Symbols of the Passion was painted in 1576 on with with oil paints. The painting is a small quaint painting framed here in El Paso Museum of Art. Fontana was a resident in Bologna, Italy, and learned from her father.. Her main focus was on devotional painting that lead to portraits. This particular painting contains the symbols that center around the events leading up to and after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Some of the items seen are the whip along with the column he was tied to, the cross, crown of thorns and the three nails. Christ is seen surrounded and supported by angels whose overall depicted scene not a written story in the Bible. The feeling her painting emotes is one of perplexity that
…show more content…
While some key elements of post crucifixion are present in the painting, the concrete timeline down on location, placement in time, or who the angels are supposed to be. Fontana portrayed these questions with the placement of items in unusual places. Two angels are hoisting up the flogging pole in the middle of the picture that looks like a light pole that something to be tied to. The texture of the pillar is smooth marbling without somewhere to tie Jesus with. What is the reason for such a formal pillar where a perceived criminal will undergo public floggings. Flogging brings me to the next symbol present in the painting. Questions arise solely with the lack of use. The detail done in the “cat o nine tails” creates the appearance of it being new instead of used many times to torture Christ. To the untrained eye putting items and a story reference with what she has painted. The next item that has an odd context are the lack of wounds on his head. The crown of thorns has some of the same discrepancies the whip does a overwhelming under presence of blood. Context of the stone is also unclear. Alone with the aforementioned small items they are placed on the ground with a purpose and great care however Fontana leaves that clarity out of the whole picture. The last item that I see out of context is the overall location. The style leaves no room for landmarks to concretely say
While some key elements of post crucifixion are present in the painting, the concrete timeline down on location, placement in time, or who the angels are supposed to be. Fontana portrayed these questions with the placement of items in unusual places. Two angels are hoisting up the flogging pole in the middle of the picture that looks like a light pole that something to be tied to. The texture of the pillar is smooth marbling without somewhere to tie Jesus with. What is the reason for such a formal pillar where a perceived criminal will undergo public floggings. Flogging brings me to the next symbol present in the painting. Questions arise solely with the lack of use. The detail done in the “cat o nine tails” creates the appearance of it being new instead of used many times to torture Christ. To the untrained eye putting items and a story reference with what she has painted. The next item that has an odd context are the lack of wounds on his head. The crown of thorns has some of the same discrepancies the whip does a overwhelming under presence of blood. Context of the stone is also unclear. Alone with the aforementioned small items they are placed on the ground with a purpose and great care however Fontana leaves that clarity out of the whole picture. The last item that I see out of context is the overall location. The style leaves no room for landmarks to concretely say