How Rembrandt Changed the Face of Jesus

Earlier this year a 2,000-year-old, credit-card-sized, lead booklet was found in a cave overlooking the Sea of Galilee bearing what looks to be the oldest portrait of Jesus Christ, perhaps made during the lifetime of those who knew what he looked like and, perhaps, the “true” face of Jesus. For millennia now, believers and nonbelievers have wondered what Jesus may have looked like and grasped at any and all evidence in their search. In the exhibition Rembrandt and the Face of Jesus, currently at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through October 11^th, a turning point in that search created by the artistic innovations of Rembrandt helps us see where that search has been and, perhaps, where that search will go. In learning how Rembrandt changed the face of Jesus from divine, inhuman perfection to human accessibility we can learn what the “true” face of Jesus might truly be. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "How Rembrandt Changed the Face of Jesus."

[Image: Head of Christ, c.1648 56. Attributed to Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn and Studio, Dutch (active Leiden and Amsterdam), 1606-1669. Oil on oak panel, laid into larger oak panel, 14 1/16 x 12 5/16 inches (35.8 x 31.2 cm). Framed: 28 1/4 x 23 x 2 inches (71.8 x 58.4 x 5.1 cm). Philadelphia Museum of Art, John G. Johnson Collection, 1917.]

[Many thanks to the Philadelphia Museum of Art for the image above and press materials for Rembrandt and the Face of Jesus, which runs through October 30, 2011. Many thanks to Yale University Press for providing me with a review copy of the catalog to the exhibition, Rembrandt and the Face of Jesus, edited by Lloyd DeWitt.]

How American Artist Robert Henri Found Himself Again in Ireland

The first time you see the name Robert Henri, it’s natural to pronounce it “ahn-ree.” Although the artist was partly of French descent, he preferred “hen-rye,” perhaps as a nod to his English and Irish roots. In the summer of 1913, after the landmark Armory Show introduced European modernism to America, Henri needed to reassess his life and art. Achill Island in County Mayo, Ireland became Henri’s refuge and the people, especially the children, of the little village of Dooagh became his subjects and salvation. In the exhibition From New York to Corrymore: Robert Henri and Ireland at the Mint Museum of Art, the role of Ireland in Henri’s career is finally examined in depth. Henri’s production proves the power of place and the power of ethnic tradition to inspire artists and confirm their inner visions. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "How American Artist Robert Henri Found Himself Again in Ireland."

[Image: Robert Henri. West Coast of Ireland, 1913. Oil on canvas, 26 x 32 inches. Everson Museum of Art; Museum purchase, 58.6.]

[Many thanks to the Mint Museum of Art for providing me with the image above and press materials for the exhibition From New York to Corrymore: Robert Henri and Ireland, which runs through August 7, 2011. Many thanks to the University of Washington Press for providing me with a review copy of From New York to Corrymore: Robert Henri and Ireland by Jonathan Stuhlman and Valerie Ann Leeds. Many thanks to Shirley Road Productions for providing a review copy of Ballycastle.]