Christ of St John of the Cross

• Salvador Dali

  Christ of St John of the Cross

  1951, oil on canvas, 205 x 116 cm

  Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow
• Initial impressions

  • Idealistic physique

  . no blood, blemishes, skin isn’t marred, muscular – powerful, healthy, not malnourished

  • Body appears to glow – illuminated/glowing
  • lots of usual and iconographical elements are missing

  . no crown of thorns or stigmata

  • Odd perspective – two viewpoints in one picture
  • Emerges from the darkness
  • Cant see face – distant and aloof Christ
  • Disconnected from the earthly realm
• Salvador Dali

  • He is associated with surrealism

  . a 20th century literary, philosophical and artistic movement that explored the workings of the mind, championing the irrational, the poetic and revolutionary

  . anti-establishment and radicle movement – they are anti-clerical – rebuking tradition

  . a movement that is meant to shock people

  • A decade after he becomes affiliated with the surrealist movement he creates a crucifixion piece

  . he was non-religious then he creates this piece and announces himself as a ‘catholic without faith’

  • Spanish
• Scale of piece

  • large scale piece

  . 4ft x 4ft

  . dominating and very much present
• VA - focal point

  • Clear focal point of Christ – his back is the centre
• VA - space and getting lighter

  • space is mostly bare – gets lighter as you get down to the bottom of the piece
• VA - diminution

  • Diminution of space for Christ – realistic proportions
• VA - viewpoint at bottom and diminution

  • Another viewpoint at bottom – looking straight on but at a higher level – diminution of space again
• VA - human form

  • human form is strong and realistic

  . tonal modelling

  • figure is naturally toned
• VA - muscular and white

  • He is muscular and white – so not a realistic representation of Christ in that way – would have been white nor muscular at the point of crucifixion
• VA - Christ shines from background

  • Christ shines out of the dark background

  . creating a massive tonal contrast
• VA - Lower landscape significance

  • The lower landscape gives the viewer an understanding of the realm below Christ
  • adds to mystifying and otherworldly element to this piece – showing the two viewpoints
  • the lower landscape shows a difference in tone and setting – from the stark background gradually transforming into the bright and natural landscape
  • disorientating for viewer - adds to mystic nature of divinity?
• The divine - when and where is this

  • after his death – possibly at his ascension?
  • He is on the cross – maybe looking onto earth?

  . this is clearly religious reference
• the divine - idealised

  • He is idealised in the way he is painted – muscular and healthy though being on the cross
• the divine - colour

  • this is colourful like many other religious depictions of deities – like Hinduism
• the divine - face not shown

  • Not like a lot of other religious depictions of deities as his face isn’t shown – kept hidden
  • The deity and the worshipper relationship is depicted in a somewhat distant manner – the worshipper isn’t familiar, facially, with who they are worshipping
• the divine - fitting into ideas of religious art

  • The work is fit into the conventions of religion as Christ is simply shown on the cross
  • Fits into the conventions of the genre through the bright colour
• how Jesus has been presented - link

  • Christ is the link between the earthly and the cosmic – seen through the two viewpoints
• How has Jesus been presented - foreshortening and ariel persepctive

  • Not the typical crucifixion scene where his body is directly in front of the viewer

  . dramatically foreshortened Jesus

  • The foreshortening creates depth at the top of the painting

  . the ariel perspective at the bottom creates depth
• How has Jesus been presented - absent

  • Seems slightly absent and aloof – as he isn’t looking at us
• How has Jesus been presented - other humans

  • The three human figures are so dwarfed compared to him

  . dramatic shifts in scale – maybe representing the significant shift of power
• How has Jesus been presented - landscape

  • The land at the bottom – is a local landscape to Dali – it has personal resonance to him – it is a fishing town

  . Jesus is soaring above a Catalonian landscape

  • The land and sea scape – draw similarities within scripture
• How has Jesus been presented - musculature

  • The dramatic foreshortening brings his upper back into focus – the exaggerated muscular representation
  • rendered meticulously – Dali has depicted faithfully the details of musculature
  • chiaroscuro for Jesus
• How has Jesus been presented - the light

  • Jesus is the lightest part of the painting – he is illuminated by an unseen source but also emitting light
  • The light is echoed in the sky – tying in the landscape and the upper part of the painting
• How has Jesus been presented - cross

  • Stark shadow across the cross
• How has Jesus been presented - light and Baroque

  • Links to the Baroque period because of the intense lighting
• How has Jesus been presented - two perspectives

  • Two perspectives evoke the power of the divine to transport us to a place otherworldly

  . the two perspectives are disorientating but that links to the mystic nature of divinity
• How has Jesus been presented - triangle

  • Prominent triangle because of the cropped top of the cross  – the cross and his cross close together point towards to earth
  • Another triangle on his head and back
• How has Jesus been presented - emphasis and symmetry

  • Vertical emphasis
  • Cross and figure are symmetrical
• How has Jesus been presented - painting style

  • Not a painterly work with large expressive lines
  • Highly finished – there is real clarity
  • The forms are rendered with high finish
  • typical for Dali – smooth
• Inspiration - Baroque and Spanish mystic history

  • He was inspired by Baroque crucifixion scenes
  • the use of light and tone
  • not a lot of gore – rather beauty of the figures
  • Christs physicality is rendered very illusionistic
  • sense of transcendence and divinity
  • links back to the Spanish mystic history
• Inspiration - math

  • He consulted mathematical theories and perspective treatises to understand the perspective
• inspiration - breakthroughs in science

  • influenced by the latest breakthroughs in atomic science
  • living in America at the time when the a-bomb was being tested
  • he says it became ‘my favourite’ subject of interest
  • the geometrically structure that is key to the paintings composition is inspired by atomical science
  • there is a scientific subject to the work – he combines science with religious belief
  • he does sketches of the circle splitting in two
• inspiration - stuntman

  • He used a Hollywood stuntman to model Christ
  • Russell Saunders modelled for him – he wanted to look at the impact of gravity on the back
  • took inspiration from both mathematical perspectives and actual figures
• inspiration - Spanish saint/mystic 16th Century

  • Influenced by a highly religious Spanish saint/mystic – 16 th century – St John of the Cross

  . saw a vision of Jesus – looking down on the cross and sketched it

  . once again linking to the Spanish Mystic tradition
• religious commission?

  • Piece wasn’t commissioned by a religious organisation or intended for a religious location
• exhibited first?

  • London in 1951
• Controversy - tradition

  • Painting caused controversy initially because art critics felt it was a step backwards as it was painted in such a traditional style

  . more conservative look and themes of the work

  • vandalised 2x
• Dali after WW2

  • He made a number of religious works after WW2
  • The contrast in subject matter of his work is clear – he depicts a lot of religious figures and scenes
  • A lot of modern artists rediscovery of religious depictions rose – after WW2 people gained more faith
• Dali and blasphemy

  • He was known for creating blasphemous paintings

  . he has anti-clerical sentiments