The Crucifixion by Jativa Master
In the 15th century in Spain completes the centuries-old struggle with the Arabs (the Reconquista). Soon Spain extends among Europe's most powerful states; it becomes the richest colonial power. In Spain, the absolutist system installed; the mainstay of Spanish absolutism, which had a much more narrow social base than absolutism in most other European countries, was the Catholic Church. Fomenting revolutionary fanaticism during the war with the Moors, the church in previous centuries has acquired in Spain only a great influence.
With the rise of absolutism, the church was made dependent on the royal power in the hands of which was actually founded by the Inquisition in 1478, became a terrible weapon of terror. The aggressive policy of the Spanish kings, cherished the dream of creating a universal Christian monarchy, headed by Spain, it saps the strength of the country and, on the other hand, evoked vigorous resistance on the part of European states. The rapid rise in Spain in the late 15th - early 16th century was accompanied by a flowering of its culture.
The culture of Spain of 15th - 16th centuries evolved under difficult conditions. On the one hand, it has inherited deeply popular features of Spanish tradition, formed during the centuries-old struggle against the Arabs, the decisive role that is played by the masses. The stern and heroic past of the country left a deep imprint in the Spanish culture. The entire medieval history of Spain, all the formation of this nation occurred in a constant struggle against the yoke of foreigners. The high level of national consciousness had an impact on literature and art, contributing to the development of realism and a critical attitude to the modern social order. However, on the other hand, in the culture of Spain could not but affect the country's dominance of the reactionary forces and the pressure exerted by the church. The hostile attitude of the church prevented a spread of the ideas of humanism and the development of the natural and exact sciences, which, with few exceptions, have not achieved significant progress. Longer than in other countries, in Spain retained the religious character of the culture.
Painful fantastic and mystical exaltation features inherent in both literature and the visual arts in Spain 15 - 16 centuries (Brown, Mann 93). The example of Spanish painting of this period is the picture The Crucifixion painted by Jativa Master in the late 1400's. The painting is executed in oil on panel lined with fabric (“Jativa Master. The Crucifixion”). This painting depicts a biblical scene of Christ's crucifixion.
Being a predominantly religious art, Spanish painting of the 15th century was particularly strong constrained requirements of the church. The Inquisition used the right kind of censorship. It imposed a ban on nudity, rebelled against the secular interpretation of religious subjects, prevented penetration in painting scenes of ancient mythology. All this hindered the development of events in the Spanish Renaissance art.
The process of overcoming the conservative canons of Gothic formation of realism in painting took place primarily in the rich coastal areas of the country, which are Catalonia and Valencia were the most economically developed areas of Spain, early in a lively trade and cultural ties with the Netherlands and Italy.
Master Jativa is an artist, who was born in 1490 in Valencia, so these changes in the Spanish art were reflected in his work. Preference is exerted by the Spanish masters of Dutch art, due not only close political, commercial and cultural ties between Spain and the Netherlands: the nature of the realism of Dutch painting, with its fine detailing and material form, sharply individual characteristic of the person and the common sonorous colorful formation was close creative quest of Spanish painters.
The Spanish master gravitated more to the empiricism of the Dutch school, rather than to high generalized image of Italian art. However, a comparison of works of Spanish and Flemish painting convinces as were still strong in Spain this time, the tradition of the Middle Ages. Realistic techniques in the transfer of space and three-dimensional shape are largely limited.
Spanish painting of the 15th century compared to the Dutch painting is more severe and dramatic. Thus, in the “Crucifixion” by Jativa Master, the main attention is paid to the image of a man, disclosure of his internal, often religious experiences. Significantly, less space takes its environment image - interior, landscape, still life. Thus, in the paintings of this period, to which the “Crucifixion” by Jativa Master has little prospects for development, figures are on the plane.
The works are devoted to religious subjects, scenes of various tortures, executions and so on are often depicted. N. The well-known influence on Spanish painting of the 15th century had the art of the Nordic late Gothic period and the early Renaissance. Fascination with Dutch painting manifests itself in borrowing techniques and in the quest for a thorough representation of details, which from that time became characteristic of Spanish painting.
The death of Jesus Christ on the cross is the central figure of Christian art. The “Crucifixion” by Jativa Master is dedicated to this biblical story and accommodates almost all the elements illustrating the Gospel narrative of the sufferings of Christ on the Cross. In the painting, in addition to the crucified Christ, Virgin Mary, John the Evangelist, the Myrrhbearers, and two thieves are depicted. Christ is depicted emaciated and bloody.
The halo around his head means that he has already "in heaven," and reunited with the Father. Christ is surrounded by an indescribable glow paints, phosphorescent against a dark background. His outstretched hands are nailed to the cross bar, as it covers a wide embrace all this hectic bustling world, blessing and forgiving him.
He was not completely naked, as the two thieves, he is dressed in a loincloth. His eyes are closed, and the wound on his chest poured blood. This image emphasized the vulnerability of the human Christ and thus the reality of His incarnation.
In compositional terms, the Crucifixion figure is depicted by the artist so that the symmetrical arrangement of characters dominates her in this scene. Traditionally at the right hand of Christ, righteous are depicted and sinners are located on the left. That is how the sides of Christ installed crosses with the criminals - the repentant and unrepentant, there are allegorical figures of the church (on the right hand of Christ), and to the left of Christ are the Virgin Mary and the Myrrhbearers (Stoleriu 164). The artist sought as vividly as possible to convey the difference in the state of mind of thieves.
The penitent criminal is depicted at the "good" side of Christ (in His right hand), there is peace on his face, and unrepentant depicted on the left hand of the Savior, and his face disfigured by the agony of physical suffering, it can torment the devil. Thieves are depicted on the crosses, like Christ, and with the same form of execution, Christ is allocated, firstly, to his central position, and secondly, the fact that his cross is depicted larger. However, in order to make the more clear distinction between thieves and Christ, Jativa master portrayed the criminals not nailed to their crosses but tied. The artist painted the angels and demons that take the souls of repentant and unrepentant thieves respectively.
Virgin Mary and John the beloved disciple of Christ, standing in mournful poses at the cross, play an important role in the composition. Mary and John are close to the Crucifixion. This is justified by the fact that Christ, according to the testimony of John, spoke to him from the cross. There is nothing surprising in the presence at the Crucifixion and Our Lady and the beloved Christ’s disciple - they take here the place that corresponds to their place in the Gospel. Balanced rhythmic and symmetrical pattern of the composition, calm delve into the characters themselves contributes to the creation a viewer’s single contemplative mood. Nude figure of Christ is the bright spot in the picture.
The most vivid colors are complementary green, white and red of the cloaks of Mary, Myrrhbearers, and loincloth of Christ. John is closer to the cross than Mary, but his body slightly deviates from the cross; Mary, on the contrary, slightly tilted to the cross, so that the upper parts of their bodies are parallel. Virgins are depicted with their heads bowed, their faces are drawn in detail and the viewer can clearly see the emotion of grief and sorrow. All these details, color combination and location of characters create a whole composition of the biblical scene of Christ's crucifixion.
Works Cited
“Jativa Master. The Crucifixion”. Art Gallery of Ontario. Web 12 June 2016
Brown, Jonathan andMann, Richard G. Spanish Paintings of the Fifteenth through Nineteenth Centuries. National Gallery of Art, Washington Cambridge University. 1990. Web 16 June 2016
Stoleriu, Adrian. The Theme of the Crucifixion of Christ in Visual Arts. SEA – Practical Application of Study, Volume 3, Issue 2 (8). 2015. Web 12 June 2016
