The art of redemption

Master painters through the ages have tried to capture the face of Christ, writes T.J. McNAMARA.

The fuzzy image generated by the BBC's computers of the face of Christ was curiously unconvincing, but no more so than the many over-sentimentalised images that show the Redeemer as a tall, blue-eyed source of sweetness and light.

Much greater images of Christ, the man who was God, have been made by famous painters in the past. Unlike the BBC work, most images have long hair. It helps to frame the face.

Most create a serene Christ but there is an Easter subject of great pathos that shows Christ at a time of his suffering while he was carrying the Cross on the road to Calvary.

Only the Gospel of St John mentions that Christ carried his own cross but the Carrying has become an integral part of the iconography of the Passion.

Among the many representations of Christ Carrying the Cross we can see the difference between Italian and Northern Renaissance art, a difference that is often noticeable in depictions of the Crucifixion.

In Venice, in the Scuola di San Rocco, which is almost entirely filled with famous paintings by Tintoretto, there is one small painting that is not by him. It is placed to one side of the room that is occupied by his huge painting of the Crucifixion. Who painted this work remains a mystery. Some scholars say it is by Titian. Others attribute it to the equally famous Giorgione.

Painted in about 1500, it shows Christ carrying the Cross and is in a very bad condition as a result of centuries of delicate touching by the faithful who believed this painting could work miracles and heal the sick.

The Christ depicted is patient and long-suffering. He is shown assisted by Simon of Cyrene who was called on by the Romans to assist Christ after he had fallen.

This Christ is resigned to his fate. He is a conscious sacrifice. His face is almost serene because he knows that these events must happen if humankind is to be redeemed.

In the big industrial city of Ghent in Belgium there are two great depictions of Christ. One is the centre of the enormously famous and frequently visited altarpiece of the Adoration of the Lamb by van Eyck in Ghent Cathedral. This Christ is dignified but conventional.

In the less-visited Art Museum of Ghent, on the other side of town, there is a much more extraordinary depiction of Christ Carrying the Cross. It is by that strange master Hieronymus Bosch who is better known for his weird visions of Hell.

Here Christ is besieged by a crowd of executioners notable for their pierced ears and even chains hanging from pierced cheeks.

This Christ is calm and long-suffering but less idealised than in the work of the Italian painter.

His face is repeated on the left of the painting where St Veronica holds the towel with which she wiped the sweat from Christ's face. The image of his face was imprinted on the towel which may be the "sudarium" still kept in St Peters in Rome.

Without going to Europe, further moving variations on the face of Christ can be seen in the Auckland City Gallery which is showing the events of Easter in a magnificent series of engravings by the German artist, Albrecht Durer. The series includes The Bearing of the Cross.

Around 1500 the same Durer painted a self-portrait now in Munich. His face is full-frontal and his long hair spreads over his shoulders. Here the artist totally identifies himself with Christ. No computer can do that.