Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #254371 in Books
• Published on: 2000-02-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
The Image of Christ by Gabriele Finaldi is a beautifully illustrated, colourful history of how Christ has been portrayed by artists from the early Church to the present. It is not, however, a life of Christ told in pictures. Instead, the book explores the challenges Christian artists have faced as they have tried to imagine what Jesus looked like. Since no eyewitness descriptions of Jesus' physical appearance survived, the earliest artists' depictions of Christ played on the symbols and images that he used in his parables--such as the Good Shepherd, the Light, and the Vine. Later, artists became concerned with capturing Christ's true physical likeness, based on miraculous relics such as the cloth that Saint Veronica offered him on his way to Calvary, which was believed to be imprinted with an image of his face. These stages in the history of Christian art are described by several art historians in brief essays, each of which is lavishly illustrated. The book, which was inspired by "Seeing Salvation: The Image of Christ", an exhibition at the National Gallery, London, will be treasured by secular and believing readers alike. A deeper understanding of these works' religious context will sharpen viewers' experience of their universal relevance. The dozens of pictures, paintings and sculptures reproduced here bear profound witness not only to the events of Jesus' life, but also to such universal themes as the enduring power of a mother's love for her children, the suffering of innocents and love's triumph over death. --Michael Joseph Gross

Synopsis
Christ is recognisable in all sorts of images: in painting, sculpture, film and illustration. His likeness is familiar, yet the Gospels and Early Christian texts do not provide any information about his appearance. This book, produced to accompany the millennial exhibition Seeing Salvation: the Image of Christ at the National Gallery, London, reveals how the challenge of representing Christ has been confronted through the ages. It explores how artists have portrayed someone who is both God and man, human and divine, mortal and immortal. The story of the changing image of Christ is revealed through a detailed look at a number of paintings, prints and three-dimensional objects, from the Early Christian era to the twentieth century. In the earliest items he is represented principally by symbols and images the Good Shepherd, the Light, the Vine, Alpha and Omega, and so on; these have proved to be potent and enduring metaphors. The authors go on to show how a concern with his 'true likeness' emerged, based on miraculous 'true' images - particularly the 'Veronica' image - the likeness Christ imprinted on the cloth held out to him by Saint Veronica on the way to Calvary.

Also illustrated are a number of works focusing on Christ's childhood, which confront the problem of representing the paradox of his dual nature as someone who is weak and powerful, victim and victor. The discussion of the iconography of the Passion demonstrates how, from a devotional point of view, images of Christ's suffering could induce a sense of sorrow for sin and gratitude to God. Finally, the authors look at how artists have translated into the images the idea that Christ lives on, and that the teachings and events of his life continue to have a profound impact.

Customer Reviews

This catalogue deserves 6 stars
This beautifully presented catalogue accompanied the exhibition at the National Gallery in February - May 2000 and BBC Series presented by the Gallery's Director, Mr Neil McGregor, before he moved to the British Museum. It is a book of great interest and influence in the History of Art, or if one simply enjoys looking at paintings of great beauty. Don't be put off by the religious connotations - I nearly was. If you love art, enjoyed the exhibition or BBC programmes - you'll almost certainly be delighted with this book.