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The raising of the Cross or elevation of the Cross has been a distinct subject in the
Life of Christ in art The life of Christ as a narrative cycle in Christian art comprises a number of different subjects narrating the events from the life of Jesus on Earth. They are distinguished from the many other subjects in art showing the eternal life of Christ ...
depicting the start of the
Crucifixion of Jesus The crucifixion and death of Jesus occurred in 1st-century Judea, most likely in AD 30 or AD 33. It is described in the four canonical gospels, referred to in the New Testament epistles, attested to by other ancient sources, and consider ...
.record
in the Getty index Cultural Objects Names Authority (CONA) Iconography Display The subject became popular in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, with artists such as
Tintoretto Tintoretto ( , , ; born Jacopo Robusti; late September or early October 1518Bernari and de Vecchi 1970, p. 83.31 May 1594) was an Italian painter identified with the Venetian school. His contemporaries both admired and criticized the speed wit ...
,
van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy. The seventh ...
, and
Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradit ...
among the first to produce significant works with the subject.


Description

Although the nailing of Jesus on the cross and the raising of the cross are not described in the
Gospels Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
,
Christian art Christian art is sacred art which uses subjects, themes, and imagery from Christianity. Most Christian groups use or have used art to some extent, including early Christian art and architecture and Christian media. Images of Jesus and narrati ...
has depicted these scenes as part of the narrative of the
crucifixion of Jesus The crucifixion and death of Jesus occurred in 1st-century Judea, most likely in AD 30 or AD 33. It is described in the four canonical gospels, referred to in the New Testament epistles, attested to by other ancient sources, and consider ...
. The Gospels only describe Jesus being "crucified" on the
Golgotha Calvary ( la, Calvariae or ) or Golgotha ( grc-gre, Γολγοθᾶ, ''Golgothâ'') was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where Jesus was said to have been crucified according to the canonical Gospels. Since at least the early mediev ...
, and do not provide a detailed account of process. As an iconographic subject, the raising of the cross depicts the moment when, after Jesus was nailed on the cross on the ground, the cross is raised to a vertical position by Roman soldiers, sometimes using ropes or ladders. Figures named in the Gospels may be present at the scene, such as
Pontius Pilate Pontius Pilate (; grc-gre, Πόντιος Πιλᾶτος, ) was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of J ...
,
Mary, mother of Jesus Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
, the
beloved disciple The phrase "the disciple whom Jesus loved" ( grc, ὁ μαθητὴς ὃν ἠγάπα ὁ Ἰησοῦς, ho mathētēs hon ēgapā ho Iēsous, label=none) or, in John 20:2; "the other disciple whom Jesus loved" ( grc, τὸν ἄλλον μα� ...
and the
women at the crucifixion The presence of a group of female disciples of Jesus at the crucifixion of Jesus is found in all four Gospels of the New Testament. There have been different interpretations how many and which women were present. Although some Christian traditions ...
. At the
Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described as ...
in 1563, the following statement was pronounced regarding the raising of the cross, explaining the use of ropes in representations:


Interpretation

In the
Gospel of John The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "si ...
, Jesus predicted that he would be "lifted up from the earth" (John 12:32) in order to draw all men to himself.
John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...
notes that Jesus was referring to his death (John 12:33).


Notable depictions

Notable depictions of the raising of the Cross include: * '' The Elevation of the Cross'' by
Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradit ...
(two paintings, 1610 and 1638) * '' The Raising of the Cross'' by
Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consi ...
(1633)


Gallery

File:Schwarz Elevation of the Cross.jpg, by Christoph Schwarz, 1587 File:Giulio Cesare Procaccini - The Raising of the Cross - NG 2276 - National Galleries of Scotland.jpg, by Giulio Cesare Procaccini, 1620 File:Elevation de la croix rubens.JPG, by Rubens, 1620 File:PM 113602 B Kortrijk.jpg, by Anthony van Dyck, 1631 File:Raising of the Cross, by Rembrandt van Rijn.jpg, by Rembrandt, 1633 File:SB 6392-Kruisoprichting.jpg, by Adriaen Backer, 1683


References


See also

*
Christ carrying the Cross Christ Carrying the Cross on his way to his crucifixion is an episode included in the Gospel of John, and a very common subject in art, especially in the fourteen Stations of the Cross, sets of which are now found in almost all Roman Catholi ...
*
Crucifixion in the arts Crucifixions and crucifixes have appeared in the arts and popular culture from before the era of the pagan Roman Empire. The crucifixion of Jesus has been depicted in a wide range of religious art since the 4th century CE, much of which has includ ...
*
Descent from the Cross The Descent from the Cross ( el, Ἀποκαθήλωσις, ''Apokathelosis''), or Deposition of Christ, is the scene, as depicted in art, from the Gospels' accounts of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus taking Christ down from the cross after hi ...
Crucifixion of Jesus Paintings depicting the Crucifixion of Jesus Iconography of Jesus {{Art-stub