Friday, March 29, 2013

Good Friday



Fr. Eric Hollas, OSB, writes on his blog, A Monk's Chronicle, of this illumination from The St. John's Bible :
I was particularly struck by the artist’s ability to teach when I first saw the illumination of the Crucifixion in The Saint John’s Bible. Artist Donald Jackson had portrayed the figure of Christ in a way I’d not conceived before. The figure of Jesus and the cross itself were pitched forward, almost as a kite ready to go aloft. And while the corpus is abstract, the gold leaf conveys a sense of energy — an energy that almost explodes on the page. 
This is not a defeated Jesus. This is a Jesus who is undergoing radical transformation. Death has not crushed him. Rather, death has unleashed something truly awesome and powerful. A metamorphosis is taking place. Death has had no power to destroy. Rather, Jesus has broken any chains of death, and instead a scene of intense drama has played out on the page.
Have a blessed Good Friday! 

P.S. - Father Hollas' blog is worthy of some of your time...