This series from the National Gallery in London looks at paintings from the museum's Renaissance collection and explores some surprising and ingenious responses to the challenge of painting Christ.
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The problem with Christ
Neither words nor images fully capture the Christian God. Despite this inherent difficulty, painters still tried.
Unspeakable images: when words fail
Empty, blank, or unfinished spaces leave paintings open to the viewer and create compelling ambiguities.
So near and yet so far: visions and thresholds
In paintings as in sacred spaces, curtains play with revelation and draw attention to the limits of human vision.
This world and the next: Christ on earth; Christ in heaven
Temporal and spatial ambiguity imbue two images of the Virgin and Child—and this portrait of Christ’s suffering.
Time and eternity: Yesterday, today, and always
Like place, time is an important theological category and, like the divine, it can be hard to comprehend.
Putting God in his place: here, everywhere, and nowhere
Renaissance painters like Lippi devised spatial metaphors in order to convey the mystery of Christ’s conception.
Christ is not like a snail: Signs and symbols
Where does a painting end and our reality begin? Crivelli’s humble snail prompts more questions than answers.
