CHRIST IN THE HOUSE OF MARY AND MARTHA - OR ON THE MEANING OF DAILY LIFE (Chrystus w domu Marii i Marty czyli o sensie codziennosci)

• Autorzy: Mickiewicz Aldona
• Języki publikacji: PL

Abstrakty

EN

The topic of the visit paid by Jesus at the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus in Bethany had been broached in art by the greatest masters (including Vermeer, Tintoretto and Jordaens). The author, however, had been always fascinated with the curious depictions of this theme by Pieter Aertsen (Christ in the House of Mary and Martha, 1552 Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna), his student Joachim Beuckelaer (Christ in the House of Mary and Martha, 1568, Prado Museum, Madrid) and the young Velazquez (Christ in the House of Mary and Martha 1618-20, National Gallery, London), in which we observe the scene of Jesus' appearance at the home of the siblings from Bethany as if from the vantage point of the kitchen. It has been proposed that the religious scene was a mere pretext for depicting still life, which at the time had not as yet assumed the form of an independent genre. The author undermines this view, and upon the basis of an analysis of the still life present in the works by Aertsen and Beuckelaer he formulates the thesis that we are dealing with an opinion expressed in a religious discourse conducted during the turbulent Reformation era. Master Aertsen, who upon numerous occasions during the iconoclastic troubles witnessed the destruction of his best religious compositions, executed this particular painting at the time of the Council Trent, and appears to have presented his personal credo or 'illustrated' the decree on the Most Hoy Sacrament, issued at the time and confirming the transubstantiation of wine and bread, the manner of storing the Sacrament of the Eucharist and carrying it to the sick, and the two ways of receiving the Eucharist - spiritual and actual. In the discussed Flemish paintings Christ is present dually - as a physical person and in Eucharistic symbols, embodied as concrete objects. More than half a century later, the 19-years old Diego Velazquez painted the same scene of Jesus at the house of Mary and Martha, up to this day providing historians of art with a theme for debates whether the Biblical scene shown in the upper right corner of the canvas is a painting, a window to the adjoining room, or a mirror or even two mirrors reflecting the meeting. The author claims that we are dealing with a painting within a painting, a recollection, or even some sort of Loyolan 'spiritual exercise'. 'Imaginative meditation' engages all the senses so that, as Ignacio Loyola wrote, 'one could smell and relish with the sense of smell and taste the endless sweetness and mildness of the deity'. The older woman showing the younger one the image featured on a wall urges to follow the path leading from 'actio towards contemplatio'.

Słowa kluczowe

EN

DIEGO VELAZQUEZ; HOME; JOACHIM BEUCKELAER; MARY AND MARTHA; PIETER AERTSEN

• Wydawca: Polska Akademia Nauk. Instytut Sztuki PAN
• Czasopismo: Konteksty - Polska Sztuka Ludowa
• Rocznik: 2010
• Tom: 64
• Numer: 2-3(289-290)
• Strony: 201-205
• Rodzaj publikacji: ARTICLE

Twórcy

autor

Mickiewicz Aldona

Identyfikatory

CEJSH db identifier

11PLAAAA094138