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| "Jesus Prays Alone" - Doug Blanchard |
And he said to them, ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.’ And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. He said, ‘Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.’(Mark 14:34-36)
If you visit his blog, you can see Doug Blanchard's entire stunning series of "Gay Passion of Christ" paintings, which carry great power when seen all together. Every single painting is marvelous, but as I looked at the pictures a day or so ago and came upon "Jesus Prays Alone", my heart skipped a beat when I saw the depiction of the lonely Jesus. Why do particular pieces of art affect us with such force? And then today at church, we heard the words above from Mark's Gospel.
A couple of years ago, Doug honored me with permission to use his paintings during Holy Week and Eastertide. Today, Jesus in Love Blog begins a Holy Week series which includes Doug's "Gay Passion of Christ" paintings and reflections on passages from the Scriptures.
Thanks for the reminder of Doug's wonderful work.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Tobias. An artist to an artist is a high compliment.
ReplyDeleteA very striking image! I love it. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteInteresting concept, I'll be looking this week to see how he carries it out.
ReplyDeleteHis work is so thought provoking in this season.
ReplyDeleteI shall also be taking a look. Thanks for the tip.
ReplyDeleteI'm always glad to spread the word about Doug's art and especially about this monumental project. The pictures were displayed together only once and now are mostly sold and spread around here, there, and everywhere.
ReplyDeleteThe more I look at Doug’s Passion paintings, the more I see in them. It has been an amazing process to write more detailed analysis of them this year at the Jesus in Love Blog. Thanks for announcing the series here, and I welcome comments from you and your readers throughout the week as all 24 images are posted. Your input will help guide me as I work on text for a book version that Doug and I hope to do.
ReplyDeleteTomorrow I’ll be posting this one, “Jesus Prays Alone.” It is indeed gut-wrenching. It’s interesting how different people are most deeply touched by different paintings… or the same person may be drawn to different paintings in different years.
Kitt, a book with Doug's paintings and your text sounds marvelous. I hope we see the reality, and I hope my visitors follow the link over to your blog to help the project along.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for this link.
ReplyDeleteJan, you're welcome. The pleasure is mine.
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