This past Sunday was the feast of Christ the King, and I was talking with some friends of mine about the lack of artwork depicting our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ as such. The best example I can think of is at the Vatican.
Lining the top of St. Peter’s Square are statues of the saints, standing there, as if guarding the head of the Church from evil and harm. The saints, though, are facing a particular direction. All of them are turned toward the center of the square and looking back towards St. Peter’s Basilica. At the top and center of St. Peter’s Basilica, and slightly higher than all the rest of the saints, is Jesus Christ.
Back to what I was saying earlier, there isn’t a whole lot of Jesus artwork that depicts the almighty power and majesty of Jesus Christ. The most common image we see is the image of Divine Mercy or the Crucifixion. Both of these are great reflective prayer tools. The image of Divine Mercy reminds us to looking to the loving eyes of Jesus and to put our faith and trust in him. The Crucifixes or images of the Crucifixion help us relate to the pain and suffered our Christ endured when He died for our sins.
But why the lack in majestic art? If you were to Google Image search “Jesus Christ King of the Universe” as I have, you’ll find icons, stained glass windows, and some contemporary paintings of our Lord. Only when I searched “baroque Jesus” did I find anything close to what I was looking for, you can see it to the left.
Perhaps it is because we want to stick to picture of Jesus that we have in our minds: a humble, understanding, loving Savior. This is true, we know that God is all knowing and all loving, but we also know that he is all powerful. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1) Jesus Christ is the Word made flesh.
I cannot remember where, but I am positive I have seen an image of Christ depicted as the all powerful Ruler of the Universe, but I cannot remember where. I think it’s a beautiful image: our God and Savior as the supreme ruler, the creator. I think we shouldn’t shy away from that image and remember that Jesus sits on His throne at the right hand of God.
If anyone can find some good images of Jesus Christ: King of the Universe, please do share them in the comments below. I would love to see them. And If you’re curious about which Saints are where in St. Peter’s Square and who the artist that designed their statue, you can find it here at StPetersBasilica.info.
May the dogma of the Catholic Church always live loudly within you.
Matthew
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