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The Death Of Death And Death Essay

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Art is thematic. Through the ages artists have explored ideas in art from different perspectives. The theme of death is recurrent in all cultures and throughout history. Religious death, death in battle, death as punishment, death juxtaposed with life, death, more death, even more death! Death is omnipresent in art. When one enters a museum, such as the National Gallery of Canada, different representations of death can be found if one looks closely. There is five forms of Jesus’ death: crucifixion, pieta, descent from the cross, lamentation and entombment. Most art involving Jesus on the crucifix have a peacefulness to them. Jesus somehow always looks serene but in pain. One can see that he is hurting from the horrific way he is forced to die, but there is a calmness to his sufferance. There is a romanticization to the death of Jesus on the cross. In The Crucifixion by Quinten Massys, Jesus is dead on the cross. Beneath him are his mother Mary, John, and Mary Magdalene. They are mourning him. Mary cannot look at the body of her son, John is looking up, praying, and Mary Magdalene is embracing the cross. Their grief is expressed through their physical action. Mary is suffering as a mother who lost her child, John is suffering as one who lost a dear friend, and Mary Magdalene is suffering as a woman who lost a lover. In it’s entirety, this piece of art shows grief of death from different perspectives. The Jesus on the cross is not physically strong. He is tiny. He appears to

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