This is a tragic piece. The darkness in the child's face, the woman, and in the background are ominous. The feeling of despair is summoned in the exaggerated facial expressions and one feels compelled to cry for her, to cry for oneself in the tragedies of one's own life. The image of a caring mother and the innocent child also help carry the tragic feeling to the viewer, for they are personal and up close in function and in meaning. It is beautiful when an artist can portray real feelings in the annals of our hearts, and open them back up again, when we thought we had folded them up and put them away in the back of the bottom drawer of the dresser, to be forgotten.
I love this painting because its depiction of the condescension of Christ is shown in such an emotional manner. In many ways it is a Christ that I envision: one that I look up to in my wretchedness, while He in solemn care and love, suffering with the weight of all on his back, reaches to help even I. Once again, the colors and lines of the faces are exaggerated to create extreme emotion, here with deep set dark eyes especially. The action in this one is also up close which helps to isolate the message, theme, meaning, or emotion expressed.
1 comment:
I love your interpretations of such beautiful pieces of art. I remember when we saw them for the first time :-)
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