In this article we will talk about the most strange and unusual statues of Jesus Christ. The classic statues of Jesus depict a middle-aged man with a beard and dark hair. Often his hands are spread apart, raised up, or stretched forward towards the beholders.
Sometimes Jesus is portrayed as a child in the arms of the Virgin Mary. But now it’s not about canonical statues, but about exceptions. Some of the sculptures are so unlike the usual images of Christ that their creators were accused of following Satanic rites. Others are just eccentric and raise a number of questions. They portray Christ in unusual poses and unusual appearances. The public went crazy when they saw the naked son of God or Christ an African American. What can we say about Jesus, who looked like the daughter of Homer and Marge Simpson.
So, before you are 10 unusual statues of Jesus Christ:
1
Black jesus
In one and the seminary of American Detroit, there is a statue of Jesus. It would seem that here is surprising, but there is one caveat - it is black! Earlier in the seminary are the canonical Jesus, who was repainted in the late 60s of the XX century during the struggle for the rights of the black population. By repainting Jesus, African Americans wanted to draw public attention around the world to oppression of their rights and racial discrimination. Given the fact that the seminary was located in the black area of Detroit, the “skin change operation” quickly became the subject of much discussion in the press.
In the summer of 1967, three activists repainted Jesus' hands, feet, and face, saturating them with shades of black and brown. Only the clothes remained snow-white. The skin color was restored by members of the seminary, but it was again repainted three months later. Black Jesus survived the restoration of the seminary and to this day remains in this form. The authorities did not consider the incident as an act of vandalism, since the sculpture was not damaged. Some believe that the color change of the statue saved it from being destroyed by the protesters.
By the way, on our site most-beauty.ru there is an interesting article about 10 images of Jesus that caused heated debate in society.
2
Homeless jesus
Photo by: Mariordo (Mario Roberto Durán Ortiz) / CC BY-SA
There are many sculptures of Homeless Jesus, which are cast in bronze, and depict the son of God sleeping on a bench. They were created by artist Timothy Schmalz. By this he wanted to draw attention to the problems of the poor, who did not have their own housing and who were forced to wander. Jesus' face is not shown, but his holes and arms appear after the crucifixion.
The first statue of Homeless Jesus appeared in Toronto (Canada), in the courtyard of Regis College. After that, about four dozen statues were created, installed in all corners of the world, including the Vatican. The statues are striking in their realism. They are very similar to real tramps. Some people even turned to rescue services, deciding that these are real people sleeping in the open in the cold. In general, the public favorably accepted the Homeless Jesus, but not everyone liked the image of Christ in such a role. That is why the governing council of Westminster in London has banned the installation of a statue in its area.
3
Christ from the Abyss
Photo by: Sebastian Carlosena / CC BY-SA
"Christ from the Abyss" - includes three statues of Christ, cast in bronze, which are located in different places. All three sculptures were created by an artist from Italy, Guido Galletti. The first “Christ from the Abyss” was made in the 50s of the last century, the statue was installed in the bay of San Fruttuoso, which is not far from Genoa.
A copy of Christ from the Abyss was built 5 years after the original. It is set in the harbor of St. George in Grenada. This statue was created in memory of the victims of the shipwreck that occurred as a result of the fire. The third statue of Galletti was made to order by the owner of the production of diving equipment Egidio Cressi. He later transferred it into the possession of the American Underwater Society.
There are other copies of the statues, but these three are made of the same material. Interestingly, the original “Christ from the Abyss” was damaged by an anchor, which repulsed the statue’s hand. It was raised from the water in 2003, and after the restoration and installation of a new pedestal, it was returned back.
4
Christ under the veil
This statue depicts a dying Christ, who is covered with a transparent veil. The veil is so transparent that Jesus is clearly visible underneath. The statue of the dying Jesus was created by the Italian sculptor Giseppe Santamarino especially for Prince Raimondo di Sangro. Work on its creation was completed in the 50s of the XVIII century. Now "Christ under the Veil" is kept in the chapel of Sansevero, in Italian Naples.
At that time, the sculpture made a splash, and even now it is the subject of controversy and conjecture. It is all about a transparent veil, the secret of which was unknown for many years. Some believed that it was created personally by the prince, using knowledge in alchemy. Prince Raimondo did not hide his love for this pseudoscience, having written many works condemned by the church. When the prince died, the Catholic Church forced his family to burn all the scientific works of the heretic. But in the manufacture of the veil, no alchemy was used, much less magic. This is pure art, since both the statue and the curtain are one piece of marble sculpture.
5
Pieta
This statue shows the Virgin Mary, holding in her hands the practically lifeless body of Jesus, and is called "Mourning of Christ." Pieta is located in the Vatican in St. Peter's Basilica. Its author is the famous Michelangelo, who created it at the end of the 15th century especially for the Cardinal of France. The clergyman planned to put a drink on his grave. The great sculptor depicted the Virgin Mary younger than Christ. She was also larger.
Michelangelo explained the “baby face” of the Virgin Mary to the fact that she was a virgin. And virgins, according to the sculptor, could not grow old, as they were "free from lust." Speaking about the dimensions of the statue, it is worth noting that for the Renaissance it was normal to enlarge a person in scale in order to maintain a balance in art. It is unnatural to portray Mary, who bore Jesus, smaller than Christ himself.
The Mourning of Christ is the only statue of Michelangelo that he personally signed. He left the painting on drink only when he overheard the conversation that supposedly it was created by another person. At that time, Michelangelo was not yet a renowned artist and sculptor, so he was afraid that his work would be appropriated by someone. Subsequently, he regretted the signature made.
6
Resurrection
In the Vatican Hall of Paul VI, there is a statue called the Resurrection. She portrays Christ inside a bursting nuclear bomb. The statue was put on display in 1977, it is made of copper and bronze by Pericles Fazzini. Fazzini's composition is designed to draw attention to the modern arms race. The sculptor wanted to show what exactly will happen to the world if he allows the start of a nuclear war.
Not far from the Resurrection is the Garden of Gethsemane, where Christ performed the last prayer before his crucifixion. However, not everyone considers the statue so unique. Proponents of the conspiracy theory argue that the composition does not depict Jesus at all, but Baphomet, an occult idol, a symbol of Satanism.
7
King of Kings
In the American Church of Solid Rock, in Ohio, there was previously a statue of Jesus Christ called the “King of Kings”. She portrayed the son of God in a rather original way, revealing to the human eye only part of his torso and the top of the cross. Interestingly, the people christened the statue the name - "Jesus announces touchdown." Hint at the gesture of the referees announcing the effective action in American football.
The fate of the statue is sad. In 2010, lightning hit it, and since the “King of Kings” was made not of more conventional marble or copper, but of fiberglass, the fire that broke out completely burned the statue, leaving “a memory” for the parishioners only a metal frame.
8
Pieta Bandini
Another name for this statue is Pieta with Nicodemus. It depicts Nicodemus, the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene, who carry the dead Jesus for embalming. Since the Bible says that Nicodemus and Joseph were carrying the embalming of Christ, some sources say that the statue depicts Joseph of Arimathea. The work on the creation of Pieta was started by the great Michelangelo, who was already in years. Completed the statue of Tiberio Kalkagni.
The first strokes of the recognized sculptor and artist of the Renaissance made in 1547. But after 8 years, he almost destroyed the sculpture, angrily "walking" through it with a hammer. Historians are at a loss about the reason for this behavior of Michelangelo. It is believed that the sculptor was annoyed by the fact that cracks constantly form on the vein marble, so he decided to break Pieta. Or maybe he did it in spite of a servant who constantly persuaded Michelangelo to complete work on the creation of the sculpture.
According to the third version, Michelangelo “confused the traces”, since Nicodemus became an important figure among the Protestants, and all of Italy fiercely adhered to Catholic Christian teachings. The sculptor sold the mutilated statue, and the new owner hired Kalkany to finish the work. He skillfully combined the broken parts and slightly corrected the overall background. But what he did not add was Christ's left foot. This gave rise to new debate about the reason for this act.
By the way, about the most beautiful frescoes by Michelangelo Buonarotti on our site most-beauty.ru there is interesting material.
9
The abducted head of Jesus
This statue does not have an official name, but it depicts the Virgin Mary with a decapitated baby. Most likely, and according to the editors of most-beauty.ru, this is Jesus. The statue is located in the Canadian church of Sudbury. Since the head was originally not cast, but removable, the unknown constantly stole it. Often, a heavy burden was simply thrown next to the sculpture, but several years ago the head of Jesus disappeared without a trace.
The local artist Heather Wise took on a new head. Initially, she created a caricature head to occupy an empty place until the sculptor finishes working on a realistic head. This head immediately became a joke from local residents and tourists. Everyone in the district knew that the Virgin Mary was holding Jesus with his head ... a cartoon character.
The “temporary" head was not only made of another material, it was not just painted in a different shade, it also resembled not Christ, but the head of Maggie Simpson. But such an action had an effect: the search for a real head began, which quickly succeeded. The woman who returned the element of the statue claimed that her head was in her office, but no one paid attention to her, because people did not know that the item was stolen.
10
The Risen Christ
Michelangelo was very fond of creating controversial statues of Jesus Christ. “The Risen Christ” (the second name of the work of art - “Christ with the Cross”) shows the son of God completely naked with a huge cross in his hands. It is worth saying that the great Italian was not limited to one statue, but made two works of art at once.
As in the case of Pieta Bandini, marble with veins became the fault. Michelangelo stopped work on the first statue of the Risen Jesus, when he discovered that black rays were visible on white marble that passed through the face of Christ. The second sculpture was made in the early 20-ies of the XVI century, after which the sculptor transferred both works to the possession of the customer Metello Vari.
The first sculpture was forgotten almost immediately after the death of the customer in the middle of the 16th century. For many years, it was considered an unsuccessful copy of the famous statue of Christ with the Cross. In fact, it was an incomplete original, which became the prototype of the famous statue. The first option was completed only in the 40s of the XVII century by another sculptor from Italy. Now he is in Bassano Romano, and Michelangelo’s universally recognized work is located in St. Mary’s Basilica over Minerva.
It is interesting that the causal place of this statue is covered by a “piece of fabric” made of bronze.
The uncertainty of the first statue helped her to remain untouched, and survive many bloody events. Napoleon Bonaparte, who captured Italy in the 18th century, did not pay attention to her; Italian and German Nazis indifferently looked at the statue during his reign.
Even during World War II, when the property of the church was requisitioned by fascist authorities and transferred to new hands, the statue was untouched. About the first author of the "Risen Christ" learned only at the end of the XX century, then the news made a splash in the world of art!
The editors of most-beauty.ru asks you to write what other unusual statues of Jesus Christ do you know?