Kishkumen wrote: ↑Sat Dec 12, 2020 2:17 pmThank you for this thread, Shulem. I think it illustrates nicely how austere, cold, and even dead this fixation on the lone Christus is. I used to be fascinated by this statue, but it always left me with a slightly uneasy feeling. There is something that is somewhat unforgiving about it. Stark. Bloodless.
Indeed, the face reveals a care-worn concern typical and prevalent of the mortal experience when man faces the uncertainty of the human condition. The face of Christus is less than divine and fails to capture a timeless glance of Almighty God's majestic glory that one might expect when looking at the face of God. Here we are forced to look at knotted hair and a twisted beard that seems oily and unkept. The sad and unbalanced lips are almost shameful. In sum, the sculpture fails to inspire majesty and is a horrible representation of the happiness of God. The starkness of the white stone is the only thing that saves the portrait from falling into utter gloom and a sense of brooding! Suppose the carved medium was in dark diorite stone rather than stark white that is placed under intense lighting and colorful backgrounds in order to make the statue more inviting. Recall the original is posing in front of a shining gold background which is what gives the statue a glorious luster. I'm afraid the Christus is a total failure in depicting the happiness of God and does not reflect a sense of love and wellbeing. It does not inspire me.