Show THE PICTURE OF CHRIST one face appears in all the centuries of christian history and in the art of every european nation as the picture of the worlds beloved on the damp and gloomy walls of the catacombs cata combs of sepulture and worship in the monuments of the primitive christian church on the portals and in the apses of ancient byzantine in stately cathedrals of the middle ages in the proud galleries of the worlds art and even on the humble walls of the lowliest homes or in the cherished bookson books of the poor 0 r that strange and wonder ful face cne arrests the mind with a celestial thought and charms the imagination witt with the hope that we may hereafter isee see him as he is whether depicted in the coarse coar sti rude lines of the earliest sketches or in the finished touches of the masters skill askill whether sad and painful with divine and human sorrow or glorious in heavenly triumph the same face is always presented the whole of christendom is enriched by these memorials of a divine visitation with endless variations of lineaments linea ments and expression there has always been preserved a faithful adherence to the general type of some ancient ideal in the midst of classic art though about the period of its decline there suddenly appeared the image of a strange but complete personality differing from all pagan ideals it was the christ he had bad come into the world and lived and labored among men who cherished his memory and they desired to leave to the ages to come some pictured reminder of his human semblance the jews jewa were averse to portrait ture they would not even have their own image or like likeness for fear of violating the second commandment man dment we cannot expect therefore to find any picture of the savior from the hands of any of his personal followers of the hebrew race the story that luke was a painter as well as a physician was an invention of the middle ages when luke was the artists guild saint and when many painters were christened with his name the agnostics gnostics cs a sect of philosophers in the first ages of christianity claimed that they knew everything about religion they were thus the opposites of the agnostics of our day there are very early traditions that those gnostics agnostics produced the first pictures and images of our lord and not as ideal fancies like the mythology and poetry of their day but giving the likeness of a man who w no was peculiarly individual and ing in appearance the earliest of which we hare knowledge were in the form of gems jewels for personal wear or amulets of see secret r et charms and metal images gems and amulets are still preserved but the images which were said to have been ordered by pontius pilate are known only by tradition the glass sacramental vessels of the catacombs cata combs are the earliest objects of the kind mentioned in authentic history which yet re mains intact some of these are still to be found in their niches in the sepulchres chres where they were deposited with the bod bodies lea of the primitive ti ve roman christians they were known before the time of who was born A A for he speaks of them as having been superseded by vessels of metal in his day he describes some of the good Shepherd symbols which appeared on the chalices or cups cupe for the eucharistic encharis tic wine and on the paterm or plates I 1 tes for the bread in one ewe case he e criticises criticizes a picture of christ which he had seen as incorrect and wanting in resemblance though rightly showing the book of truth in his hand this implies that a true type was well known at least to intelligent chr and that the symbolical book was an established idea the oldest legend connected with the most ancient portrait like picture 14 of which we have any knowledge relates to one abgar or Ab argalus galus king of edessa in mesopotamia opo tamia he was fatally illand having heard of the fame of jesus jesudas as a healer he sent a messenger from his rock fortress city in the desert of jerusalem imploring the mighty one to come and heal him anan the kings messenger was his secretary and a painter as well and was instructed to bring a picture of the wonder worker if he could not induce him to come in person to edessa arriving at jerusalem anan meets the savior who tells him he cannot leave his work to go on such an errand anan then resorts to his art tries to paint a portrait of the face of christ and fails Butle but beaus susin in pity ity gives him a napkin upon which lne he 1 in wiping his ahli face has imprinted imprint the holy image of his countenance anan returns and many strange adventures and wonderful wonder fu escapes happen to him and to the picture but the holy image always protects itself and him and confounds his enemies until he finally reaches the presence of the king and to him displays the precious face the monarch is instantly healed and r converted to christ he writes a letter to his savior who sends him an answer this letter and reply are preserved in the apocryphal gospels this unique picture with its long syrian face bright eyes and spirited expression was known in the primitive christian church probably to and doubtless to eusebius born AD who mentions it in his works there was certainly a first picture w we know of no one earlier than this and it was the cherished image which the greek painters in syria the gnostics agnostics and uie ae early chris i tian artists copied IM every variety of work from the jewel for a ring to a mosaic or a statue whatever became of the original picture with its ite miraculous legends this oriental type was early brought to rome by some copies from the east and we find it running parallel with the roman classic type which was before the true one was known in rome the primitive classic type was idealized from the apollo and orpheus conceptions and was represented with young beardless face short hair and short tunic that such representations were intended for christ is evident from the designing and the miracles and other work which he is doing but this class of ideals is probably the work of roman painters who were yet believers in the old mythology and bad not broken loose from their pagan conceptions these continued to be frequent until the fifth century although there were many works of otherwise classic art yet t remaining iu Ju which the true V nazarene adarene type with long hair and fuu full beard is presented A sentimental variation of belief appeared in the primitive church concerning the personal beauty of the savior some differences which then arose still prevail between the ideals of the oriental or greek church and those of the western or roman church the oriental fathers excepting only john of damascus insisted that as prophesied by isaiah in the chapter he was without form or comeliness and when we see him there is no beauty beaufy in H im that we should desire je him therefore he must have been uncomely and thus the early greek artists painted him their successors the byzantine painters as a school and their modern imitators in the greek church still preserve this ideal id eal the roman fathers on the contrary on the authority of the psalm held that he was fairer than the children of men and must have inherited more than the royal beauty of david accordingly they desired to see him as they believed he wa the chie feefe among ten thousand and the one altogether lovely as in the poetic rhapsody of the canticles canti cles As christianity prevailed and conquered one nation after another the christ ideal in its pictorial forms went with the missionary and church one of the early fathers mentions also that the different bishops brought their favorite pictures jewels and images to the great ecclesiastical councils at rome at byzantium and at ravenna which was the italian capital of the greek empire christian art once free preserved and gradually improved the ancient type while creating those grand works which were to be the models and inspiration of all later art the council of constantinople in decreed that christ might t be directly represented in art and that fuch finch presentation was preferable to the symbolizing which had become mystic and bewildering to the ignorant gregory 11 II in says that men expended their estates to have the sacred stories represented in paintings they took strangers and pagans to look at these where they could point out with the finger and so edify them as to lift their hearts and minds to god the position of the roman t hurch was that images and pictures were links of that ideal chain which art has riveted the union between the visible and the invisible life all the complex presentments of christianity to the soul through the senses are the divinely eloquent appeals of genius in the sanctuary adrian 1 I recognizing christ as the new adam and a model of beauty and perfection of form decreed that he should be represented with all the beauty of art As early as the ath century pictures had bad become so universal that photius Phot lus the learned patriarch pat of constantinople said that every nation portrayed christ with its peculiar national features but in all these works there were some unvarying ideal elements long grave features the unshorn Naz nazarene areDe locks and the unshaven beard whatever variations the favorite national conceptions may have leave exhibited in particular works the invincible conservatism of the byzantine school with its undeviating formulas has rigidly preserved and repeated continually the an ancient le ut type their petrified art has faithfully brought it down to our own day while there have been inal infinite nite changes in features and in subjects in different christian lands this steady adherence to the archetype archi type has also been maintained with more or less leas fidelity in all countries the free genius of art has revelled bevelled revel led in the ideal beauties of the theme of the divine man but the severe and solemn mission of the greek sacred art has been to be faithful to the old ever protesting against the new all nations have given their best beat art efforts to the christ ideal the same objects have inspired them all to teach and to convert souls as well as to embellish houses of worship our ancestors ances fors were probably ac quainter quain ted with the antiquities and prevalent art of the countries they had left england in the days of the pilgrim fat fathers bers had nothing to boast of in native sacred art arl most of its work had been done by foreigners holland had known some great painters but they had brought most of their ideals and subjects from italy tile same may be said of france in that age german art has always been realistic but not the less devout and even mystical her national faces home scenes and well known places have been associated with almost all the sacred themes tn in our own time such masters as and zimmermann of munich picture christ as mingling in the humble peasant life of the day even portrays the last supper as ina in a familiar la german cottage with the characteristic faces of a group of his friends representing the disciples they are like the common people who heard him gladly 1 l their heir faces are indeed common COMMOD but they are noble and devout it is not history but it is sentiment beautiful and inspiring Dg the same realism is seen in recent italian art and even among the works of such french masters as bida and maignan english art is rather archaic than realistic it should be remembered too that when art was its europe for almost a thousand years it was an element ju in teaching religion to people while they althey learned to understand christianity in such objective lessons tes sons they learned also to appreciate the achievements ofa of art in representing the objects they heli in reverence american sacred art began with benjamin west well named the pioneer of the western world in the treatment of gospel themes his greatest original theme and one of the grandest in sacred art is I 1 IC christ brist rejected ahad I 1 had the privilege to see and admire it in the academy of fine arts in new york the savior spurned of men and even reviled by his own people and denounced by the high priest of his hia fathers father Is house stands bound and crowned with thorns in the midst of a tumultuous and wild throng and in the awful depo lation of a complete and final rejection meekly submissive he stands resigned even to the terrible accusation of blasphemy charged by a jewish priest he opens not his mouth even pilate scorns the ab accusation of treason of making himself a king and seem to wish to release him but the nation which he came to save rejects him and the roman governor weakly hands him over to their murderous will the swaggering triumph of the vehement priest who accuses and denies the very hope of Isra israel ell is in awful contrast with the gentle submission of the mighty one who yields himself to save by the cross rather than rule upon the throne the type of face is rather classic but milder abid sweeter than the ordinary greek ideal the crucifixion ap resurrection and ascension J were de signed by this master and the last imbed picture was waa a few years ago exhibited in berlin the triumphant and smiling face of a conqueror appears to the angels who behold him bursting the bonds of death leading captivity captive the remarkable profile of christ as represented in the above named picture has for its starting point one of the numerous similar conceptions which prevailed in the fifteenth century and it was associated with the tradition of the emerald Ver Bicle micle ll 11 the legend usually accompanying compa nying this profile is as follows lows the only true likeness of our lord and savior jesus christ taken from the portrait carved on an emerald by order of tiberius casar caesar which emerald the emperor of the turks afterwards gave out of the treasury of constantinople to pope innocent VIII for the redemption of his brother taken captive by the christians ll 11 it is a great and beautiful work a divine study the image of the son of god not in godhood god bood which man cannot picture but in manhood noble dignified chaste loving sym pathetic self sacrificing fici ng heroic wise mW majestic estic worshipful but who can picture all these attributes in one ideal yet more than all this he was the christ of godl god DR DB RD ED ISAACSON AMERICAN FORK nov 20 1889 |