Fully God and Fully Man

 Representations of Christ's Humility

Throughout the history of Western art, artists have grappled with portraying Christ and his suffering. As the form, content, and stylistic techniques evolved, so did the portrayals of Christ in their content, style, and use. 

In painting or showing a representation of Christ, the artist is forced to grapple with the difficulty of portraying Christ. On the one hand, the Bible clearly condemns any kind of image worship; naturally, considering the history of icons in the church, we should be wary of this in images of Christ. And yet when an image shows Christ, the Son of God, it naturally begs a reverent response from a viewer. This tension is why so many in the reformed tradition have altogether forbidden imagery of Christ, and, indeed, the Westminster Larger Catechism Q&A 109 states that the second commandment forbids, "the making any representation of God, of all or of any of the three persons, either inwardly in our mind, or outwardly in any kind of image or likeness of any creature whatsoever." 

Yet at the same time Christians must study and understand how Western artists have portrayed the suffering of Christ. How have artists attempted to show both the divine, glorious nature of Christ, but also his humanity?

Image from the Rabbula Gospels, Crucifixion of Christ. 6th century.

This image from the Rabbula Gospels is one of the earliest known depictions of Christ's crucifixion. It is worth noting that the early Christian church did not, to our knowledge, create such images of Christ until the 5th or 6th centuries. Here we see the artist struggling to depict Christ in his holiness, but also in his humanity. In his reverence, the artist clothes Christ, and the presence of a halo indicates his "set-apartness." Hieratic scale is here as well to show Christ's godly nature, as his size and center status in the piece show his importance.

Unknown, Crucifix, ca. 1200-1220. Wood Sculpture.

This particular piece again highlights the tension that artists struggle with when depicting Christ. This is a sculpture of Christ on the tree, but he is fully clothed, and looks peaceful and calm. This is not a man in the throes of death by crucifixion, but a god who is not harmed or even bothered by the cross he is on. While clearly divine, this Christ does not seem to be fully human. He is very much levitating, almost above and in front of the cross.

Matthias Grünewald, Isenheim Altarpiece. 1512-16.

In Grünewald's famous triptych of Christ crucified, we see a quite disturbing image of Christ's crucifixion, with his body literally covered in splinters and scars. This altarpiece was located in a chapel for a skin care hospital, and by portraying Christ's suffering in this manner, invalids at the hospital were able to see a Christ who was suffering with them; one who, in his humanity, could relate with them in their own disease and pain. Grünewald shows a very human Christ; we can clearly see here the death of a normal man, suffering the gruesome death of crucifixion. This piece notes a shift from a focus on Christ's divinity to one on the humanity of Christ, particularly in the shameful manner of his execution.

Rembrandt van Rijn, Christ Crucified Between the Two Thieves, 1653. Drypoint.

Rembrandt's etching Christ Crucified, or simply The Three Crosses, shows Christ's crucifixion as the death of a criminal. The print captures the moment Christ dies, as the light from above symbolizing the opening of Heaven, and the tearing of the temple curtain, which separated the people from God's Holiness. Rembrandt's use of etching allowed him to vary the ink to achieve different effects from print to print. In later prints, Rembrandt almost washes out the border of the piece to focus on Christ, creating a more individualized, personal image.

Otto Lange, Crucifixion II, 1918. Drypoint.

Otto Lange's Crucifixion II contrasts with Rembrandt's Three Crosses; both are drypoint, utilizing the drypoint needle to achieve the same velvety effect. Yet Lange's crucifixion is very different in its fragmented, linear structure. We see Christ in the midst of huddled, moving bodies, as soldiers line the perimeter. Their presence keeps the viewer within the inner circle of the print, making the scene very personal. Just as in Rembrandt's print above, this personal nature of the painting is very devotional, or meditational. 

Andres Serrano, Piss Christ, 1987. Photograph.

Serrano's infamous and controversial Piss Christ depicts a crucifix figure suspended in the artist's own urine. The photograph generated substantial backlash and critique, but Serrano, a devout Catholic, emphasizes the manner in which Christ died, and the way in which he was received. He was treated as the lowliest criminal, and killed in a way which was brutal and disgusting. Serrano says of the piece, "What it symbolizes is the way Christ died: the blood came out of him but so did the piss and the s***." It is brutal in its irreverence, and realistic in portraying the gruesomeness of crucifixion.

All of these pictures highlight a tension of the holy, or sacred, and the secular. Christ's very nature of God and Man is paradoxical, and for thousands of years artists have attempted to show this tension. But how can we do justice to the very Son of God? Is it for us to try to depict Christ and his suffering on Earth? 

No earthly painting of any artist can capture the glory of the Son of God. In these paintings, we can see the tension that the artist struggles with in portraying Christ. While certainly, "he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him," yet, "he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors" (Isaiah 53:2, 12). God chose that he should appear to many, but for us, living in the end times, God has chosen that the Word and the Spirit is enough.

David VanDrunen, professor at Westminster Seminary, notes, "We live in the age after the ascension, and we must reckon with the absence of Christ. The apostolic testimony therefore defines us as people who do not see Jesus—yet. The visual appearance of Christ that we await is truly a glorious expectation for those who have believed now. On that day Christ will “be marveled at among all those who have believed” (2 Thessalonians 1:10). “When he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).