FREE CRUCIFIXION: IN THE ANCIENT WORLD AND THE FOLLY OF THE MESSAGE OF THE CROSS PDF Martin Hengel,J. Bowden | 112 pages | 01 Nov 1977 | Augsburg Fortress | 9780800612689 | English | Minneapolis, United States | Crucifixion | | Martin Hengel | Boeken Crucifixions and crucifixes have appeared in the arts and popular culture from before the era of the pagan Roman Empire. The crucifixion of Jesus has been depicted in religious art since the 4th century CE. In more modern times, crucifixion has appeared in film and television as well as in fine art, and depictions of other historical crucifixions have appeared as well as the crucifixion of Christ. Modern art and culture have also seen the rise of images of crucifixion being used to make statements unconnected with Christian iconographyor even just used for shock value. The earliest known artistic representations of crucifixion predate the Christian era, including Greek representations of mythical crucifixions inspired by the use of the punishment by the Persians. The Alexamenos graffitocurrently in the museum in the Palatine HillRome, is a Roman graffito from the 2nd century CE which depicts a man worshiping a crucified donkey. This graffito, though apparently meant as an insult, [2] is the earliest Crucifixion: In the Ancient World and the Folly of the Message of the Cross pictorial representation of the crucifixion of Jesus. In the first three centuries of Early Christian artthe crucifixion was rarely depicted. Some engraved gems thought to be 2nd or 3rd century have survived, but the subject does not appear in the art of the Catacombs of Romeand it is thought that at this period the image was restricted to heretical groups of Christians. The earliest Western images clearly originating in the mainstream of the church are 5th-century, including the scene on the doors of Santa SabinaRome. The purported discovery of the True Cross by Constantine's mother, Helenaand the development of Golgotha as a site for pilgrimagetogether with the dispersal of fragments of the relic across the Christian world, led to a change of attitude. It was probably in Palestine that the image developed, and many of the earliest depictions are on the Monza ampullaesmall metal flasks for holy oil, that were pilgrim's souvenirs from the Holy Landas well as 5th-century ivory reliefs from Italy. Early depictions showed a living Christ, and tended to minimize the appearance of suffering, so as to draw attention to the positive message of resurrection and faith, rather than to the physical realities of execution. Early Byzantine depictions such as that in the Rabbula Gospels often show Christ flanked by Longinus and Stephaton with their spear and pole with vinegar. According to the gospels, the vinegar was offered just before Christ died, and the lance used just after, so the presence of the two flanking figures symbolizes the "double reality of God and man in Christ". The "S"-shaped slumped body type was developed in the 11th century. These images were one of the complaints against Constantinople given by Rome in the Great Schism ofalthough the Gero Cross in Cologne is probably nearly a century older. The earliest Western images of a dead Christ may be in the Utrecht Psalterprobably before The first of these is the earliest near life-size sculpted cross Crucifixion: In the Ancient World and the Folly of the Message of the Cross survive, and in its large scale represents "suffering in its extreme physical consequences", a trend that was to continue in the West. By contrast, an altar crossalmost always a crucifixbecame compulsory in Western churches in the Middle Ages, [21] and small wall-mounted crucifixes were increasingly popular in Catholic homes from the Counter-Reformationif not before. As a broad generalization, the earliest depictions, before abouttended to show all three crosses those of Jesus, the Good Thief and the Bad Thiefbut later medieval depictions mostly showed just Jesus and his cross. From the Renaissance either type might be shown. The number of other figures shown depended on the size and medium of the work, but there was a similar trend for early depictions to show a number of figures, giving way in the High Middle Ages to just the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Evangelistshown standing on either side of the cross, as in the Stabat Mater depictions, or sculpted or painted on panels at the end of each arm of a rood cross. The soldiers were less likely to be shown, but others of the party with Mary and John might be. Angels were often shown in the sky, and the Hand of God in some early depictions gave way to a small figure of God the Father in the heavens in some later ones, those these were always in the minority. Although according to the Gospel accounts his clothing was removed from Jesus before his crucifixion, most artists have thought it proper to represent his lower body as draped in some way. In one type of sculpted crucifix, of which the Volto Santo in Lucca is the classic example, Christ continued to wear the long collobium robe of the Rabbula Gospels. In the Gothic period more elaborate narrative depictions developed, including many extra figures of Mary Magdalenedisciples, especially The Three Marys behind the Virgin Mary, soldiers often including an officer on a horse, and angels in the sky. The moment when Longinus the centurion pierces Christ with his spear the " Holy Lance " is often shown, and the blood and water spurting from Christ's side is often caught in a chalice held by an angel. In larger images the other two crosses might return, but most often not. In some Crucifixion: In the Ancient World and the Folly of the Message of the Cross donor portraits were included in the scene. The same trend affected the depiction of other figures, notably in the " Swoon of the Virgin ", who is very commonly shown fainting in paintings of between andthough this depiction was attacked by theologians in the 16th century, and became unusual. After typically more tranquil depictions during the Italian Renaissance —though not its Northern equivalentwhich produced works such as the Isenheim Altarpiece —there was a return to Crucifixion: In the Ancient World and the Folly of the Message of the Cross emotionalism in the Baroquein works such as Peter Paul Rubens 's Elevation of the Cross. The scene always formed part of a cycle of images of the Life of Christ after about though it is noticeably absent before and usually in one of the Life of the Virgin ; the presence of Saint John made it a common subject for altarpieces in churches dedicated to him. From the late Middle Ages various new contexts for images were devised, from such large scale monuments as the "calvaire" of Brittany and the Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy to the thousands of small wayside shrines found in many parts of Catholic Europe, and the Stations of the Cross in the majority of Catholic churches. Russian Orthodox depiction of crucifixion by a painter of the Novgorod School Christ on the Cross by Fra Carnevalecirca — Crucifixion by Albrecht Altdorfercirca —, with tiny donor couple among the feet of the main figures. Crucifixion, seen from the Cross by the French painter James Tissot—, shows the view from the perspective of the crucified, and is regarded as an early example of the transition to modern art. Seventeenth-century copper alloy crucifix, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mural of the Crucifixion in the Rosary Basilica Berlin Crucifixes fashioned out of coral, Ambras CastleInnsbruckAustriadate uncertain. Crucifixion has appeared repeatedly as a theme in many forms of modern art. Fiona Macdonald describes the painting as showing a classical pose of Christ superimposed on a mathematical representation of the fourth dimension that is both unseeable and spiritual; [26] Gary Bolyer assesses it as "one of the most beautiful works of the modern era. Porfirio DiDonna 's abstract Crucifixion is one of a number of religious works he painted in the s, "blending the artist's devotion to the liturgy and his commitment to painting". The stained glass window depicts a black man, arms outstretched, reminiscent of the crucifixion of Jesus; it was sculpted by John Pettswho also initiated a campaign in Wales to raise money to help rebuild the church. Photographer Robert Mapplethorpe 's self-portrait shows the artist, nude and smiling, posed as if crucified. In photographer Andres Serrano created Piss Christa controversial photograph that shows a small plastic crucifix submerged in a glass of the artist's urine, in which Serrano intended to depict sympathetically the abuse of Jesus by his executioners. Other artists have used crucifixion imagery as a form of protest. In Augustperformance artist Sebastian Horsley had himself crucified without the use of any analgesics. Crucifixion by Porfirio DiDonna, oil on linen, 24 x 20 inches. Chris Burden 's performance piece Trans-Fixedin which he is crucified on a Volkswagen. Marcus ReichertCrucifixion VIIoil and charcoal on linen with newsprint collage, 74" x 62". Gabriel von Max 's painting Martyress depicts a crucified young woman and a young man laying flowers at her feet - a scene not corresponding to any of the female martyrs attested in formal Christian Hagiography. Crucifixion in popular art, as with modern art, is sometimes used for its shock value. For example, a World War I Liberty bond poster by Fernando Amorsolo depicts a German soldier nailing an American soldier, his arms outspread, to the trunk of a tree. Crucifixion imagery is also used to make points in political cartoons. An image of a skinhead being crucified is a popular symbol among the skinhead subculture, and it is used to convey a sense of societal alienation or persecution against the subculture.