Yeshua upon the Tree: a Terrible Beauty, an Immense Paradox

I realize the crucifixion disturbs people. How the cross can be a thing of beauty is strange to those that do not follow it. Those of the Faith view the suffering and death of Messiah as Divine love and mercy for all humanity. The cross, it is a terrible beauty.

What follows are ideas behind my art. I introduce the site with the black and white pencil version. Without color it seems raw and unprocessed, a better foundation for individual contemplation. At the end you can see painted versions of the art.

Here is one of my painted versions (right click and open in new window to see a larger picture). As mentioned, I usually like my black and white version better. Without color it seems raw and unprocessed, a better foundation for individual contemplation. I paint my pencil drawings in numerous layers using an old version of Corel-Paint. The brush settings I use allow me to paint while preserving the character/textures of the pencil drawing. My art is usually like a mixed-media sandwich made up of many digital paint layers and the pencil drawing is the meat in the middle.

I am still working on the colored version. I have not decided if I like the sparks or not, which are suppose to be rising up from torches below the cross and maybe foretell his soon decent into Hell. Here is a representation of Christ looking more like a Jewish man, including the Jewish side locks of hair. I did it that way because I have never seen him depicted on the cross in a manner that authentically indicates that he was a Jew. His hair has the hint of "ruddy" so as to suggest that he is from the bloodline of King David – like the scriptures tell that Messiah would be. Since I depict Christ looking more Jewish, I like to call this "Yeshua upon the Tree".

 

Above is a zoom-in of another version. His eyes are lighter and reflect the fire that burns below the cross. You can also better see the detail in his beard and side locks of hair (called peyot, payos, or peyes). A long time ago Jewish men did not cut the hair on the sides of their heads. Today many Jews do not wear these side locks. But some groups still have them. There are different styles and traditions related to how the side locks are worn.

TO ENLARGE RIGHT CLICK & OPEN IN NEW WINDOW

In this version I give him blue eyes, which seems more expressive than the brown eyes and offer a nice color contrast. But some do not like to see Christ portrayed with blue eyes because it makes him look like his was a man from Europe.

Thanks for visiting.

Read Psalm 22 - which opens with "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME?"