The Church of San Marcello al Corso hosts the exhibition The Path of Hope. Rembrandt and Burnand in Rome. The exhibition, curated by Don Alessio Geretti, is part of the exhibition The Jubilee is Culture and is placed in the general context of the Ordinary Jubilee 2025, promoted by the Dicastery for Evangelization. At the center of the exhibition are two masterpieces of exceptional importance: The Disciples Peter and John Running Together to the Tomb of Christ on the Morning of the Resurrection by Eugène Burnand, from 1898, and The Supper at Emmaus by Rembrandt Harmenszoon Van Rijn, from 1629. These are two of the most famous paintings in the world dedicated to the Christian Easter, and therefore to the theme of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
Eugène Burnand's painting, presented by him at the Paris Salón in 1898, was an immediate success; the work captures the moment when the disciples, still incredulous, run to the tomb. The light of the rising sun that pervades the canvas and the movement, the gestures, together with the expressions on the faces of the figures express an intense hope, symbolized by the golden light of the sky. The disciples in fact, do not yet know that they will see the risen Jesus, marking the dawn of a new radiant hope for the history of humanity. The painter, born in French Switzerland into a Protestant family, dedicated much of his career to combining art and faith despite the Reformed tradition that limited the use of religious images.
In the painting The Supper at Emmaus, on the other hand, Rembrandt represents the moment in which two disciples, struck by amazement, recognize the risen Christ. The work, inspired by a passage from the Gospel of Luke (v. 24), conveys a strong religious message, transforming an inn scene into a revelation. The painter highlights the silhouette of Jesus in contrast with the strongly illuminated surface of the wall behind him; the backlight effect in fact, with the light source placed behind the body of Christ, which outlines his profile, suggests the moment in which he passes from physical visibility to invisibility. The disciples are depicted in different poses: one draws back in fear, the other kneels before Jesus, knocking over the stool. But Rembrandt gives a new version: Jesus, in fact, although placed in the foreground, is visible only as a shadowed silhouette because the light, according to the artist, must strike those who have the ability to recognize it, thus making them enlightened. The painting also features the figure of a woman who works in the inn placed by the painter in a bright corner; the latter can be interpreted metaphorically as all those people who, by putting themselves at the service of others, are already on the path towards the Light. The greatest value of this work is in fact given by the extraordinary effect of the light that is released from the canvas, which represents a true masterly example of chiaroscuro. Rembrandt in fact prefers a story of pure symbolic representation, without following the academic rules, accentuating the suggestion of the presence/absence of the Risen One at the same time.
Photo: Eugène Burnand, The Disciples Peter and John Running Together to the Tomb of Christ on the Morning of the Resurrection, (1898), oil on canvas
Informaciones
Condividi
