The Miracle of the Slave
Artist: Tintoretto
1548
Painting
A crowd of figures stand gathered around a fallen nude male, seeming to express various states of shock and confusion. A single figure in a pale, green robe and white turban turns away, holding a broken hammer up for the benefit of a startled leader who leans forward, nearly standing, from of his elevated, seated position. An angelic figure hovers over the event. The overall composition of Tintoretto's religious painting, The Miracle of the Slave, although set within an opulent Roman courtyard, is intense with action. This miraculous event depicts the moment a slave, the nude figure, is about to be punished for praying to relics of Saint Mark which his master had forbidden. Three times the executioner attempted to levy the punishment, and each time the tools have broken before the slave could be harmed. This is the work of Saint Mark who, in dramatic fashion, descends from heaven in a red robe and billowing orange cape to rescue the slave and spare him the suffering associated with this painful death. This miracle also converts the slave's master to embrace the Christian faith.
This painting is oil on canvas and is housed in the Collection of Gallerie Dell'Accademia, Venice.
The Mocking of Christ
Artist: Matthias Grünewald
1503-05
Painting
blindfolded and bound Christ sits on a low surface in the bottom left foreground of the frame. His slumped shoulders and upturned lips suggest defeat, exhaustion, and an acceptance of his fate. To his right, a crouched figure pulls aggressively on the rope secured around his wrists. The top half of the painting is dominated by six men who attack and taunt Christ in diverse ways. Directly behind Christ, for example, a man tugs violently on his hair; about to strike him with his raised clenched fist.
Select Pages
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212