I chose this painting because the story of Christ's baptism is widely popular and therefore, so is the painting, which was made around the 1450's by PIERRO della Francesca. This painting has many symbolic figures and deliberate meanings and even though this painting was made quite a long time ago, as a Catholic, it is still quite interesting for me to analyse the symbols and deduce the reasons why they are put where they are.
The dove symbolises the holy spirit that Christ received on the day of his baptism and this is why it is placed directly above him. The dove however, looks like it was painted to blend in and look a bit like a cloud similar to the others in the background. I think this might have been done to portray the holy spirit as not just something that everyone sees or believes in. You have to look closely at the painting to distinguish it just like you have to be pure and baptised to receive the holy spirit.
Christ, in the painting, is also sheltered by a tree and he has both his feet placed firmly on the ground. This shows that he is of importance. His clothing, which is traditional for any other person who was to be baptised (purely just white garment), shows that he is also still down-to-earth despite his importance and his status. The tree not only shelters him but also separates him from people whispering and they represent all the people and religious authorities who doubted Christ and spread rumours about his alleged lies and blasphemy. The separation shows how Christ did not let this get to him or even force them to believe him. It shows how he was forgiving, letting them be and letting them choose for themselves what to believe in and what side to choose.
2 comments:
You like looking for symbolism, so can you find examples from what we've read so far of how writers are deliberatly using images to represent something?
The poems we have read so far in class also uses symbolism. For example, in Mr Bleaney, the shabby and bleak room symbolises the way he used to live and what he's got to show of his previous existence. Also, in the poem 'You're' by Sylvia Plath, she uses animal descriptions instead of human to describe how she feels about her unborn child to symbolise how she is very alien to the situation, how she doesn't really know what to expect, suggesting also that it must be her first baby.
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