The etching “Jesus Healing the Sick,” which was painted around 1647 by Rembrandt van Rijn is one of not only Rembrandt’s more famous paintings, but one of the most famous paintings of the seventeenth century and continues to be an object of study today. In the 18th and 19th century, the painting only continued to grow in notoriety. There is a story that the painter bought back his own work for a father high price at an auction. What though, about this painting makes it such a striking piece of work? I content that Rembrandt’s use of shading and lighting, using Christ as the center and source of the lighting and shadowing contributes to it being such a striking piece of work that it is.
Sayre lays down three essential steps in viewing art. First is the reception of the piece. Like greeting a person, one should stand before it without preconceived ideas of what it is supposed to be. This is more difficult with known works of art since a person will likely have heard of it before and have preconceived ideas about what it represents or what it is supposed to be. The section step is extractions of different things seen, both their form and content. And the third is a synthesis of the first two, putting all of the elements together to arrive at a completed meaning.
On first reception of “Jesus Healing The Sick” the most prominent figure is Christ who stands front and center with one arm touching a man compassionately, the other hand raised to heaven. The shapes are representative of realism, of figures that are created to reflect as close as they can real life. It is important to note that the people in the painting all gravitate towards the focal point of Jesus, making his upright stature even more prominent.
The colors are a stark contrast between dark and light. Jesus is the source of the light, as it is sketched with the lighting coming from the center (Jesus), rather than some external source such as the sun. The foreground is bathed in this light, while the background, which appears to be a cave or a stonewall, is bathed in darkness. The area of emphasis it not just Jesus, but also the people surrounding him. But they seem only to be illuminated by their proximity to Jesus.
This is important because and makes a powerful statement for the message that the painting is attempting to convey, that Jesus is the source of light. This is consistent with the tenets of Christianity, and certainly reflective of the context and society for which it appears in.
Jesus, in this painting in terms of lighting, is the sun and source of light. From the halo on his head that emits beams of light to illuminate the stonewall, to his hands which lights up people who seem in distress. These individuals’ pieces, the light emanating from Christ, and the people who are drawn towards him, all mix together to create the whole.
Following Sayre’s steps for seeing art, “Jesus Healing The Sick” can first be approached as individual quadrants of light and dark. The source of the light, whether one is familiar with who the person depicted in the center or not, is the dominant feature of the piece, and indeed gives light and meaning to the rest of it.
Work Cited
van Rijn, Rembrant. ""Jesus Healing The Sick"." Copper Print Etching.
