Lectionary Reading Reflections with Visual Exegesis of a Painting of Christ's Resurrection
The epistle reading for the 19th Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 22, Series B) from Hebrew's 2 includes a quote of Psalm 8:4-6:
4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet
The author of the book of Hebrews draws a clear connection between this Psalm and Christ who has humbled himself to the point of death on the cross and has all things subjected under his feet. There is nothing that is above Jesus. This is good news, indeed, for those who are baptized into Him. It means that no authority on earth can even compete with our Lord. His promises are sure. Our sins are forgiven. His victory has been won. We have life eternal in Him.
The painting by Ambrogio Bergonone of Christ's resurrection showing Christ's feet clearly out of the tomb. The appearance of Christ's feet could certainly indicate his bodily resurrection. The mention of Jesus' feet in the resurrection accounts made this point explicit. He is no ghost. Ghosts don't have feet. He is risen, bodily from the dead! The appearance of Jesus feet also shows his victory over the grave. The grave must submit to His life. He is victor and holds the standard staking His claim once and for all time over all things under his feet, even death (cf. 1 Cor. 15).
There is also another curious thing about this painting. Christ's body remains in what is known as grisaille. This is a technique utilized for centuries where form is depicted in monochromatic shades of gray. In some cases, it is left as it is. However, the grisaille can also be used as underpainting upon which glazes of thin, translucent colors are applied to stunning effects. When you see a painting that uses this technique, the stacked layers of thin color allow the light to pass through the layers of pigment creating a luminescent feel. This has a great effect in skin tones and fabrics. It appears as though Bergonone has only colorized Christ's head and one hand that is lifted up. It appears that this was intentional, especially when his right forearm seems to fade into the grisaille of the elbow. It is as if Bergonone is depicting Christ's body finishing the process of resurrection.[1] While alive and animated, even standing triumphant over the grave, His colorless body is in the process of receiving its full life and color of skin, just as His head already has. The rest will soon follow as the foot is stepping upon and out of the grave. If this is the case, it is a very dynamic and creative way to portray Christ's resurrection.[2]
This painting is very intriguing when one thinks about the other ways that the Scriptures speak of Christ's Body theologically. That is, Christ is the Head, and the Church is the Body of Christ. Could this painting, as visual medium of language, also offer a profound insight or picture of the way to envision the life of the Church as the Body of Christ? Christ our Head has already been raised, fully, bodily. He is the first fruits and the rest will follow (1 Cor. 15:23). We, as the Body of Christ, are alive today: forgiven, redeemed, alive in Christ by faith. By faith in Christ, we are more than conquerors today just as His feet stand over all his enemies (Rom. 8). And, at the same time, we feel as though we are still in a lifeless and colorless world where sin and death and trial are still present. We await our own resurrection on the Last Day. But we are united to Christ, our Head. As Christ, the Head, has already been raised and received His full color, so we, His Body, will surely follow in all His splendor on that Last Day.
NOTES:
Ambrogio Bergonone. Christ Risen from the Tomb (1490). National Gallery of Art / Wikimedia Commons.
[1] It's possible I may have heard an interpretation of another painting of the process of Jesus' resurrection, though I cannot recall where that was.
[2] Clearly, the scriptural accounts of Christ's resurrection do not mention how the resurrection process itself happened. We do not need them to do so, and I am not interested in exploring such questions. The accounts of Christ's bodily Resurrection are more than enough for us.
