The Mocking of Christ April 2 2015

Édouard Manet, Jesus Mocked by Soldiers (1865)

Within his body of work, Édouard Manet only produced two paintings with a religious theme.  As a founding father of modernism and leader of the artistic movement from realism to impressionism, this subject was unusual. Known as an artist who painted modern life, contemporary urban scenes or landscapes, this painting is a surprise.

Manet’s life was marked with contradictions: born of a wealthy family he turned from the legal profession of his family to art and scorned the life of the gentleman within his art; he consistently sought the acceptance of the Salon of the artistic establishment only to enter paintings he knew to be nontraditional that produced scandal and criticism; as he gained some success in the Salon, he attempted to separate himself from the young artists, the Impressionists, only to be linked to them as their leader and inspiration. 

Likewise, this painting is a contradiction.  The composition of heroic scale and colors suggest an Old Masters painting, but the stark contrasts of light, thick raw brushstrokes and flat forms are the beginnings of modernism in Manet’s style.  The grays and browns suggest a seriousness that is brought to life with the occasional use of bright orange.  Manet flouts convention in his portrayal of Jesus.  Rather than the idealized versions of the past, he confronts us with a very human, vulnerable Jesus, unable to control his fate, unheroic and awkward.  The critics condemned Manet’s use of common, lower-class people as his models and the sheer ordinariness of this presentation of Christ as a man. 

However, as Christ was fully God, He was also fully man.  It is His humanity that we should embrace at this time in Lent as we move toward the grace and forgiveness of His death and resurrection when He is revealed as God.  Looking at our own weaknesses, it is difficult to imagine Jesus as weak, but here we see that image presented.  Manet reveals a Christ that is as ordinary, common, vulnerable, out of control, awkward, and human as we are. 

Interestingly, the title suggests another contradiction within this painting.  Jesus hardly looks like He is being mocked by the soldiers, but instead they seem stunned to be in His presence.  The one soldier looks to be covering Jesus’ nakedness with the purple robe rather than striping Him, and the other is kneeling almost in homage rather than preparing to torture Jesus with the rod he holds. 

So, in these last few days of Lent, may we confront our weaknesses, our sin, our humanity, and bring it all to Jesus on bended knee, laying down all that we use to torture others or ourselves.  May we remember that we are forgiven and that grace abounds!

-- Nancy S. Livengood