Sacred Art – The Dead Christ With Angels by Édouard Manet
Sacred art on the biblical story of Mary Magdalene entering the tomb of Jesus and seeing two angels. A 1864 oil painting by French artist Édouard Manet.
It was not very often that Manet chose religious topics for his paintings. The “Dead Christ with Angels” was one of the first – if not the first! – of his religious paintings.
The painting was created in 1864 with the purpose to be exhibited at the Paris Salon. Edouard Manet was 32 at that time.
There are some speculations on whether or not Manet has chosen a biblical subject that year just to please the picky jury of the Salon. His previous and the first experience with the Salon was not good, with much of negative criticism regarding his “Luncheon on the Grass”.
Édouard Manet (1832–1883) – a French modernist visual artist, one of the first 19th-century artists to paint contemporary life. Manet was an important figure in the art style transition from Realism to Impressionism.
The inscription on the rocks in the foreground points out that the artwork is based on a quote from the New Testament of the Bible:
“And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet.”
Gospel of John 20:12
However, the composition and stylistic choices of the artist are not at all close to the Bible verse which was chosen as a base for the painting. Jesus is still present and might be dead although his eyes are open, and the angels are dressed not in white.
The main concern of the jury, the critics and of Manet himself was the spear wound on the wrong side on Jesus’ body. This major mistake Manet has noticed too late – the painting was already sent to the Salon.
Today, art historians in their usual way interpret the wound which moved from right to left as an image of Christ present among us and looking at himself in the painting as if he would see himself in the mirror.
An interesting element of this painting is the fusion of the Realism and almost abstract Impressionism. This fusion can be seen on Jesus’ body and on angels’ clothes – the contrast and sharpness of lines in some parts and blended transitions and vague lines in other parts.
Now he painting “Dead Christ with Angels” by Edouard Mante is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, USA.
