How is Jesus Christ Portrayed in 20th Century Art - Research Paper Example

Introduction The concepts of religion and spirituality continue to be conveyed through different art works and visual presentations. The artwork that is presented not only shows viewpoints of Christianity and religion, such as through the representation of Christ. This also shows what the focuses of society and culture are within religion through the beliefs that are seen in visual arts. When looking at 20th century art, there is a specific significance associated with Jesus Christ. This is directly related to the idea of human effort, liberalism and what it meant to transcend as a human. The portrayals of Christ worked to represent everyday society in the 20th century, as well as the transcendence out of the human efforts and into something greater. The movements that are a part of the 20th century of art are used to portray not only basic concepts and philosophies, but are also a direct reflection of society and what was occurring in the surrounding environment through the movement into the contemporary time frame. Context of Christ in Visual Arts The context of Jesus Christ in visual arts is one that has changed throughout time. This is dependent on the way that social representations, culture and history have all defined the concepts of Christianity and Christ as a prophet. Understanding how this has occurred as well as the context that is represented at different time frames all creates a different concept that is related to the ideologies of Christ. “Perceptional differences about an important historical figure are not unusual, and they point to human propensity for noticing or discerning details about events in unique ways. Consequently, Jesus was seen and imagined differently by different people…. True to form, every generation since the time of Jesus has had the impulse to reinvent Jesus, to make him understandable” (Burns, 20, 2007). The context that Christ is portrayed in with relation to the details is one that is not represented as a prophet or as a part of Christianity. More importantly, the context is linked directly to the reinvention of Jesus and the way that he is portrayed by individual inspiration, society and culture. The 20th century theologies are important to the perceptions of Jesus and the portrayal that he had in history. The 20th century is often referred to as an era of transition, specifically from moving into traditional ideals and into an enlightenment of transformation. Many were looking into contemporary and modern ideas that were able to present their concepts of religion and spirituality. The social and cultural aspects of this were linked directly to this were based on moving in to contemporary thought and realistic ideals of philosophy. The 18th century began this with the enlightenment in which Christ was represented as a savior and as one who could bring revelation to Christians. The 19th century followed this with the Age of Reason and questioned the traditional beliefs of the enlightenment by questioning the practicality and reasonability of religious components. The 20th century moved against both of these concepts with the idea of contemporary religion. The human experience became more important with a realistic view on religion and theologies. Human effort, liberalism and the entity of Christ all became central to this. More importantly was the concept of transcending from human experience and into one that was godly, like the Christ figure (Grenz, Olson, 51-63, 1992). As the 20th century progressed, the ideas of human effort and liberalism began to move into the opposite side, which consisted of a questioning of what human effort and liberalism meant within society. Experimentation in the late 20th century began to represent the main philosophies that were a part of the earlier time frame. Portrayals of Jesus in Early 20th Century Art The beginning of the 20th century noted a change in society not only from the transcendence of religious components but also related to human effort and liberalism through the industrial revolution. Many of the portrayals of Jesus in 20th century art were seen through the concept of art as materialism as well as religion as one that could sell. Everyday material existence was often combined with the ideas of religion that were incorporated into the church. The concept was not only based on materialism but was related to the concepts of everyday life and the alternative lifestyles that were based around the economy, mass production and the work flow that was incorporated into the culture. The portrayals that were a part of everyday life and materialism began to flourish with ideas of Christianity as well as the visual representation of Christ. The early 20th century not only saw the changes from a materialistic and economic viewpoint but also changed because of the several wars that were in Europe. World War I and World War II were known to create a different effect in terms of the concept of Christianity and religion. Those that were Christian began to identify with this not only as a religion but also as a culture. More importantly, many began to become fanatical about the presentation of Christianity as a true religion that was above others. The split in this was seen with the treatment of Jews in World War II as well as the involvement to stop this particular concept. This led to many having an affiliation with Christianity not only as a movement toward religion but also one that was associated with politics, international relations and the involvement that different nationalistic areas had toward others (De Grazia, 60-69, 2005). An example of these ideals can be seen in Vincent Van Gogh’s painting, “The Parable of the Good Samaritan.” The Parable of the Good Samaritan This was painted in 1890 with oil on canvas. The depiction of this particular painting shows the several ideals related to the visual representation of human effort, liberalism and materialism. The main focus on this particular painting is on the Good Samaritan who is being lifted by Jesus onto a mule. The Good Samaritan parable was known for giving to others and was not depicted by material wealth. The content of the Good Samaritan is furthered by the background, which shows an open field without any material wealth around. Of the Samaritan onto the mule is also known to create a specific depiction toward what is occurring. The Samaritan is seen as overcoming the situation, specifically by the Christ figure lifting him onto the mule. There is the ability to display the idea of transformation, overcoming and freedom from the two figures that are central to this particular painting. Painting in the Mid – 20th Century The mid – 20th century of art stayed in the same vein in terms of the different concepts that were related from politics, economics and the social time frame. However, different philosophies of art began to become more influential to those that were working as visual artists. This was based on the post – modernism that began to emerge after World War II. Contemporary art depicted lifestyles that were interested in the ideas of freedom and changes that were a part of political behaviors. Deconstruction of society was an influential model, as well as postmodernism and multiculturalism. Many that were in these veins of intellect and philosophies were interested in taking the traditions and ideals of society and culture and changing it into one that was based on contemporary thought. The reflections of society, observations of visual artists and the way that they were influenced by the changes of contemporary thought also led to different observations in religion and philosophy. The same post modern ideas and the images perceived of Christ made a difference in how individuals were able to respond to different concepts in society (Hollinger, 5, 1996). An example of the postmodernism and multiculturalism seen during this time is from “Jesus Rising #4.” Jesus Rising #4 This was painted in 1964 and was focused on Christ as a figure that was not considered as controversial. The focus of the artist and the painting associates with ideas of multiculturalism as well as the controversies that were in society. By creating an observation of society of not having controversial topics, is the ability to take away identity that was a part of religion and philosophy and to create a neutral presentation of Jesus. When looking at this painting, one can see the focus is on the main portrait of Christ. However, the robe and the look of Christ are not as important as the blurred lines that are surrounding the figure. The background has a wheat field and blue sky, both which allow the topic to remain neutral. Depicting Jesus as both neutral as well as one that was commonly depicted in society is then able to create a different visualization of the idea of Christ during this time. The topic also shows the ideas of transcendence and change, specifically through the raising of the hand and cloth in the figure. Each of these topics was considered as primary components of the Christ figure. Late 20th Century Art The late 20th century of visual art also led to a change in the depictions of Jesus as well as from society. The postmodern movements as well as the different concepts that are associated with this are able to provide a different perspective to the figure of Jesus. The changes that progressed into the late 20th century were based on providing objective viewpoints of specific figures. More importantly, there was a focus on changing the materials, focus and the perspective that was seen in the art. Experimentation was used during this time frame as a result of the neutrality and the postmodern movements. Minimalism, for instance, was used to convey specific points without adding in extra details. Other types of paintings focused on creating different types of lines that were decorative and which did not contain the strict subject matters from past paintings. The experimentation during this time frame was said to be reflective of the deconstruction that began in the 1960s and which continued with the awareness of visual artists into the meanings of contemporary social and cultural developments (Ruhrberg, et al, 350-352, 2000). The changes into the late 20th century can be seen through several different images of Christ. For instance, the “Blue Crucifixion” is one that shows the concept of Jesus but doesn’t depict the figure. Blue Crucifixion This painting was painted in the late 1990s and alludes to the figure of Christ; however, the minimalist approach doesn’t place the figure in the painting. Instead, there is a reference to the crucifixion as well as lines and shades that represent the crucifixion. The missing portrait is one that is able to display the minimalist approach to the portrayal of Christ. After looking at this painting, one can make several assumptions about the portrait of Christ as well as the specific meaning that visual artists began to represent. Christ became a meaning that was more symbolic in nature with the depictions showing something that was experimental in nature and which moved outside of traditional types of paintings. The revealed concepts in visual art continued outside of minimalism to show a sense of experimentation. The concepts that were related to this continued to be based around ideas of human transcendence and liberalism. The mid to late 20th century used postmodernism as well as mainstream pop culture to display these same concepts of Jesus. For instance, the musical “Jesus Christ Superstar” was able to show the concept of Christ as a regular man who was brought to liberate everyone in the same century. The concept of Jesus in this was one that was based on the social and cultural philosophies of the time, which continued with human transcendence and freedom. Christ was not one that was depicted as a saint or as one that was above others. Instead, the artwork of the mid to late 20th century was able to provide a different understanding of the depiction of Christ (Loverance, 106, 2007). Conclusion The concepts of Christ throughout the 20th century changed in several regards. The main way that they changed was based on the concepts that were held in society and culture as well as with several individuals. The different portraits that are used in 20th century art combine with the philosophies that are a part of visual artists of the time. Each of the portraits is used to represent not only the main portrait of Christ as well as the association with religion. More importantly, each one referenced the time frame, accepted social concepts and the cultural framework that each was painted from. The concept of transition through human effort and liberalism were at the foundation of the paintings that were a part of this time frame. This led into experimental methods that questioned these philosophies and showed different perspectives and angles of what human effort and liberalism meant. When conveying these concepts, there is a different understanding of the perspective and portrayal of Christ in the different works. References Burns, Paul. 2007. Jesus in Twentieth Century Literature, Art, and Movies. London: Continuum International Publishing Group. De Grazia, Victoria. 2005. Irresistible Empire: America’s Advance through Twentieth – Century Europe. Boston: Harvard University Press. Grenz, Stanley, Roger Olson. 1992. 20th Century Theology: God and the World in a Transitional Age. UK: InterVarsity Press. Hollinger, David. 1996. Science, Jews, and Secular Culture: Studies in Mid – Twentieth Century. New York: Princeton University Press. Loverance, Rowena. 2007. Christian Art. UK: British Museum Press. Ruhrberg, Karl, Klaus Honnef, Manfred Schneckenburger, Ingo Walther, Christiane Fricke. 2000. Art of the 20th Century. Cologne: Taschene. Read More