Biblical stories: The Kiss of Judas through the eyes of artists
Judas Iscariot. This biblical name and the story associated with it have become a symbol of betrayal. Thirty pieces of silver, for which Judas agreed to tell about Jesus, is payment for this betrayal. All biblical stories have inspired representatives for two thousand years. different types art. The story of Judas, along with others, often appears on the canvases of artists.
History of the painting Caravaggio"The Kiss of Judas" is amazing in itself. The master painted it by order of Chiriaco Mattei in 1602. However, two centuries later the work disappeared. It was discovered quite recently, when in 1990 the painting was identified by the chief restorer of the National Gallery of Ireland, Sergio Benedetti. For a long time, Caravgio’s painting hung in the Society of Jesus in Dublin. It was considered a copy of the painting Dutch painter Gerard van Honthorst. The work is now in the National Gallery of Ireland.
Refers to the image of Judas Italian artist, one of the most prominent representatives of the Siena school Duccio di Buoninsegna. Main job The altar image of the Siena Cathedral "Maesta" is considered to be the master's. Its creation dates back to the beginning of the 14th century.
The betrayal of Jesus' disciple was included in the series of works "Great Passions" Albrecht Durer. On the engraving German painter and graphics we see how the Savior is taken into custody. Judas sits and stretches out next to him. There is suffering and pain on the face of Jesus, while the traitor nervously and hastily tries to explain himself to the teacher.
In the Prado Museum in Madrid there is “The Kiss of Judas”, written by a representative of the Neapolitan school Giordano Luca. The traitor peers into the face of Jesus with despair. But the eyes of the son of God are closed, his head is turned, his hand reaches to his heart.
On the fresco Giotto Di Bondone drama unfolds. Illustrating biblical story, the author uses all means artistic expression to emphasize the significance and greatness of Christ and contrast him with the ugliness and meanness of Judas. The artist confronts the high and the low, morality and its absence. The calm and confident gaze of Jesus meets the repulsive and unpleasant eyes of the traitor. Giotto enlivens the composition by surrounding the teacher and student, frozen in tension. Staticity and concentration in the center contrasts with the dynamics around.
Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi comprehended in his art what death is and how a Christian appears in its face, where is the guiding thread that will lead him to salvation.
Baroque art
Caravaggio is a representative of Baroque art, which made death a fact of life. It cannot be separated from violence and suffering. Death and its image took possession of the painter’s feelings and subjugated them. Paintings by Caravaggio- this is often the ecstasy of saints, their prayerful unity with God in love and death, their highest pilgrimage in front of her face. This is no longer a quiet and peaceful event, as during the Renaissance. In the Baroque it becomes not a personal, but a public fact, a part of life, inspiring fear and horror. A person does not just die quietly, but is torn out of it by violence or evil fate. Examples of this are Caravaggio’s paintings: “David with the Head of Goliath”, “Sacrifice of Isaac”, “Beheading of John the Baptist”.
Life of Caravaggio
Caravaggio was born into the family of an architect. He early mastered the basics of craftsmanship and studied in Milan with the artist Peterzano. The Lombard school gave the artist a sense of life and the desire to convey it. The artist’s fate was so difficult that his very personality prompted reflection. In search of his path in life and painting, Caravaggio leaves Lombardy and, having visited all the cities of northern Italy, comes to Rome, where he has no patrons. With considerable difficulty, he gains the attention of influential church dignitaries. It is difficult to judge Caravaggio as a man of faith. There is no documentary evidence of this. As a man, he was worried about the prospect of eternity.
Paintings by Caravaggio such as “The Martyrdom of St. Matthew”, “Entombment”, “Salome with the head of John the Baptist” are confirmation of this. The theme of frailty (vanitas) runs through the entire work of the painter from youth until his death.
Milestone work from the Borghese collection, 1591
« Sick Bacchus"is a work that did not appear by chance. The artist became seriously ill, was admitted to the hospital, and then transferred to the basement, where there was no longer any care for him, and he was truly on the verge of death. By chance he was noticed there by a priest who knew Caravaggio. The artist was taken to the wards, provided with care, and he survived.
After recovering in a semi-ill state, he painted the painting “Sick Bacchus”, in which it is believed that he depicted himself while still in a state of illness. This is evidenced by the cold coloring of the picture, and the theme of death is played out by fading leaves in the foreground, which remind the viewer that all life is only temporary. After this, he increasingly includes in his still lifes, which carry a taste of mortality, a reminder not only of life, but of what is directly opposite to it.
Prayer as pilgrimage ecstasy
A person’s initiation into faith occurs, among other things, through prayer. An example of such spiritual feat for believers of the 16th century was St. Francis of Assisi. "Ecstasy of St. Francis" (1598) for ordinary people was an example of the comprehension of faith. He depicts a prayerful ecstasy equal to death. This is not physical death, but spiritual rebirth, the birth of a man of faith and love. The angel supporting his head holds, in order to later present, the stigmata of St. Francis. But later (1600) we see another saint. Francis, as a poor wanderer, as a pilgrim. He has a rough cassock and a hole in his shoulder. He is worried about what he will appear before God with, so he holds a skull in his hands.
The image of "St. Jerome" (1606) is an example of asceticism, which is instilled in the heights of the spirit through a departure from worldly temptations to cave life. His reward is divine revelation. The artist tries to remind his viewer of this. The still life - a book, a pen - shows that the saint became a conductor of the divine word.
The face of death
IN early years creativity writes the traditional work of Caravaggio - “Medusa” (1593-1594) in the form of a round shield. She was very often depicted on wooden shields covered with leather and given to men in significant events their lives.
Without departing from tradition, he depicts Caravaggio’s monster in its death throes. The artist’s jellyfish is not yet dead; its last seconds have come. A transitional state is written, when life is still present, but is leaving drop by drop, and Medusa feels it. The face is still alive and screaming, but pallor is already covering it, and life is about to disappear forever. The depiction of Medusa is very naturalistic because it should be frightened by the nightmare of disappearance. And at this time, live snakes sway around her head. This and other rather cruel scenes run through the art of Caravaggio.
Feats of Faith
"Judith and Holofernes" (1595-1596). The story is like this. Holofernes and his army besieged his native Vettulia, where Judith lived. The girl snuck into the commander's tent. The beautiful Judith and Holofernes are feasting. The fearless girl drinks him with wine and cuts off his head. Taking it with her, she returns outside the walls of the city, and the head of Holofernes is displayed on a spear for everyone to see. The army retreats and the people are saved. Caravaggio depicts overt violence.
On the canvas, Judith cuts off her head with disgust and disgust, keeping her distance from him. Caravaggio is one of the first to depict the very moment of this beheading, which is purely physiologically very unpleasant: the eyes pop out of their sockets, Holofernes’ mouth is open, he is screaming. It is believed that the head of Holofernes is a self-portrait.
“David and Goliath” (1596) is very similar to it. In the foreground is the brutally severed head again. This is even more evident in the later work of the same name, when the artist depicted his head being severed by Goliath (1605). With a theatrical gesture, David pushes the terrible head into the foreground, like the face of death.
The same thing was depicted in a work from the Borghese Gallery, where the artist absolutely painted himself (1606). There is a subtle and complex intonation of tragic acceptance of death here. These are Caravaggio's paintings depicting terrifying moments of death.
Last years, wanderings
The motives for death are repeated in his later works, after he was forced to flee Rome because he accidentally killed his opponent during a game and in a dispute. The artist was condemned by papal decree. He wanders around Malta from 1606 to 1610, and then dies in Tuscany. It was during these years that he created his most tragic and profound works. He writes several versions of “Salome with the Head of John the Baptist”, “The Beheading of John the Baptist” (1608, Cathedral of San Giovanni, Valletta). These are the undoubted masterpieces of Caravaggio, which no one could adequately imitate.
"The Beheading" is a huge work that depicts a common subject. Its unusualness is that we seem to really be standing in a huge deserted courtyard with its colossal arch made of stone. The frankness of what is depicted is emphasized by the fact that the executioner chopped off, but did not yet raise his head. That is, the moment of transition from living to nonliving is repeated again, when the threads of life still connect the body and head. But what is most shocking and tragic about the image is that in the blood that spreads from the body, Caravaggio signs his name. With this blood he unites himself with the sacrificial death of John the Baptist.
Lighting in Caravaggio's paintings
For Caravaggio, light is not just a tool with which he models form, gives volume and plasticity. The artist's light is dramaturgy. It identifies the main components of content and creates it. The artist uses light to highlight certain main points, emphasizing them. According to documentary sources from old authors, it is clear that he wrote in a shaded workshop and used artificial lighting.
An unexpected find
Caravaggio's painting "The Kiss of Judas" was considered long lost. In Dublin in 1990, St. Ignatius's Monastery approached the National Gallery of Ireland. The monks needed restoration of a painting that they had had since the 30s of the 20th century.
The restorer immediately understood who the author of this masterpiece, which was known only from copies, was. The artist created it by order of his regular client Mattei. His descendants then considered the painting a copy and sold it in 1802 to Scotland, where it remained until 1921 and was resold to a pediatrician in Ireland. Then it was donated to the monastery, where it hung in the refectory. After restoration, the painting remained on permanent loan at the National Gallery. The plot is based on the Gospel text. Judas kisses the Savior as he emerges from the Garden of Gethsemane to indicate to the guards who should be arrested.
Caravaggio. Kiss of Judas. 1602 National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin.
"Kiss of Judas" Moonlight snatches several figures from the darkness. Faces. Hands. Black armor. Christ retreated under the pressure of the crowd. Judas will kiss him now. Thus giving a sign to the guards that he is the one. One guard had already touched Jesus' chest. There was a second left before his arrest. For now, pause.
At first glance, the painting is typical of Caravaggio. It’s easy to understand all the artist’s innovations. However, this work contains one unusual message. We will try to decipher it.
Tenebroso, realism and something else
If you have not seen a single painting by Caravaggio before, then you will be able to understand all its features from “The Kiss of Judas” alone. It is his classic.
Tenebroso
Caravaggio used the tenebroso method very talentedly. When the background is completely dark. And only dim light sculpts the figures.
In the painting “The Kiss of Judas” the tenebroso method is especially appropriate. After all, Christ is arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane at night. And only the moon could illuminate this dramatic event.
Realism
The image is extremely realistic. Even in the twilight we see the dirt under the heroes’ nails. We see every wrinkle. The characters' gestures and facial expressions are very believable. Like, for example, St. John. Who screams, realizing the tragedy of what is happening.
How did Caravaggio achieve such realism? He used a camera obscura. He asked the sitters to take the necessary poses. The image was projected onto the canvas. Then the artist quickly outlined the outlines of the figures. This is how the characters’ poses turned out to be lifelike.
Caravaggio never created preliminary drawings. He worked only from life. This also helped him create vivid images. Some artists, by abusing excessive preparation, can turn a dynamic plot into a dry narrative.
Approximation
Caravaggio brings us as close as possible to what is happening. As a result, only five figures “fit” into the frame. He didn't even pretend to be St. Peter. Although before Caravaggio it was always included in the plot. Showing how he rushes to protect the teacher in a fit of anger. Yes, he only cuts off the ear of one unfortunate person from the crowd.
. 1303-1305 Fresco in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, Italy. wga.hu An unusual message from Caravaggio
There is one unusual moment in the film. Look, there is a man standing on the right with a lantern in his hands. He peers at what is happening with interest.
Caravaggio. Kiss of Judas. Fragment. 1602 National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin. wga.hu He is not an apostle. And not a guard. Who is he?
This is Caravaggio himself.
Why did Caravaggio paint himself?
Is this narcissism? The desire to immortalize yourself?
Most likely, the reason is different. This is his message to all of us. And to decipher it, you need to delve a little deeper into biblical story.
And this plot is about treacherous betrayal. A student betrays his teacher for 30 pieces of silver. It would seem that the plot is tragic, but simple. The self-interested villain betrayed the good and meek Jesus.
But the roots of his betrayal go deeper. Judas saw Jesus as the savior of his people. He imagined how he would carry out a coup. Sit on the royal throne. And he will give the main roles to his closest associates. Him too.
Yes, Judas was vain. For the sake of a high post, he was ready to endure ascetic image life. To later become a court minister. Not less.
But Jesus did not behave as Judas expected. He did not fight for power in the usual ways. He won the hearts of people with his wisdom, generosity and willingness to sacrifice.
Judas did not expect this. His ambitious plans collapsed. And a small price to pay for the extradition of Christ is an opportunity to take out the anger for your unfulfilled hopes.
So this is not some scary villain that he is often portrayed as. He is rather a pathetic, petty person. Who is ready to immediately turn away from his teacher, friend. Realizing that this connection does not promise him anything. This is his main tragedy. And such tragedies are all too common at all times. And in our time.
This is why Caravaggio portrayed himself as an observer. He peers into what is happening. As if asking yourself the question “What about me? Am I betraying Christ?
It is as if he is calling to us. Warns. Like, be careful. Ask yourself more often question“Am I betraying Christ?”
And everyone will already have their own Christ. Moral principles. Family. Purpose. Conscience…
Interesting fact. Another “Kiss of Judas”
Caravaggio's paintings were often copied. “The Kiss of Judas” also has a copy. It is kept in the Odessa Museum of Oriental and Western Art.
Of course, I will show it to you here. But this doesn't make much sense. They are difficult to distinguish from each other. Everything was copied down to the smallest detail.
Follower of Caravaggio. Kiss of Judas. 1602 Museum of Eastern and Western Art, Odessa. museum.odessa.ua Don't pay attention to lighting and colors. Still, the pictures are taken from different sources.
No. However, they differ in one detail.
Take a closer look at the faces of the characters in both paintings.
In the Odessa painting, the skin looks waxy. In Dublin, she is more natural-like.
But still both pictures are very similar. Therefore, at one time the Odessa copy was considered the author’s. There is even a legend about how it appeared.
Caravaggio wrote the Dublin Kiss of Judas for his patron Chiriaco Mattei. Art connoisseurs admired the painting. Which Kiriako’s brother was very jealous of. In order to please him, Caravaggio wrote an original copy for him.
The copy was actually written for the customer's brother. According to his ledger. But most likely it was not Caravaggio who did it. By that time he was no longer in Rome. He ran away from there after.
PS.
By the way, the Odessa “Kiss of Judas” was stolen from the museum in 2008. The painting was returned in 2010. Using a straw buyer. The canvas was badly damaged by thieves. It is still under restoration.
On the fourth day after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus Christ said to His disciples: “You know that in two days there will be Easter, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”
On this day, in our opinion it was, the high priests, scribes and elders of the people gathered at the high priest Caiaphas and consulted among themselves how they could destroy Jesus Christ. At this council, they decided to take Jesus Christ by cunning and kill Him, but not on a holiday (then a lot of people gather), so as not to cause disturbance among the people.
One of the twelve apostles of Christ, Judas Iscariot, was very greedy for money; and the teaching of Christ did not correct his soul. He came to the high priests and said: “What will you give me if I betray Him to you?”
They were delighted and offered him thirty pieces of silver.
"Judas Receiving the Wage of Treason" by Giotto di Bondone 
Betrayal of Judas. Author: Duccio di Buonisegna, XIII century. 
Good Friday. Kiss of Judas. Beginning XIV century, fresco of the Vatopedi monastery, Athos
From that time Judas sought opportunity to betray Jesus Christ not in front of the people.
After Christ prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, Judas, the traitor, came into the garden with a crowd of people who walked with lanterns, stakes and swords; these were soldiers and ministers sent by the high priests and Pharisees to capture Jesus Christ. Judas agreed with them: “Whoever I kiss, take him.”
Approaching Jesus Christ, Judas said: “Rejoice, Rabbi (Teacher)!” And kissed Him.
Jesus Christ said to him: “Friend! Why have you come? Do you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” These words of the Savior were the last call to repentance for Judas.
Basilica of San Apollinare Nuovo. Kiss of Judas
Betrayal of Judas. Ivan AivazovskyThe Kiss of Judas. Petrov Alexander Nikolaevich.
Painting The Betrayal of Judas by Andrey Nikolaevich Mironov.
When Judas the traitor learned that Jesus Christ was condemned to death, he realized the horror of his act. He, perhaps, did not expect such a sentence, or believed that Christ would not allow this, or would miraculously get rid of his enemies. Judas realized what his love of money had brought him to. A painful remorse took possession of his soul. He went to the high priests and elders and returned the thirty pieces of silver to them, saying: “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood” (i.e., I betrayed an innocent Man to death).
They said to him: “What is that to us; see for yourself” (that is, be responsible for your own affairs).
But Judas did not want to humbly repent in prayer and tears before the merciful God. The cold of despair and despondency enveloped his soul. He threw the silver pieces in the temple in front of the priests and left. Then he went and hanged himself (i.e., hanged himself).
Stories about painting and paintings:
Giotto di Bondone.
Taking Christ into custody
or The Kiss of Judas. 1304, Tempera
"The Taking of Christ into custody, or the Kiss of Judas" is one of Giotto's most expressive and heartfelt frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel, a small private chapel in the city of Padua in northern Italy, which ensured Giotto's unfading fame for seven centuries to come.
“The Kiss of Judas” shocks the viewer with an unprecedented (and almost unthinkable for the beginning of the Trecento, when the fresco was created) emotional intensity. We witness a restless pandemonium, see long torches, swords and spears trembling in unsteady hands against the dark blue night sky and feel how electrified the air is in anticipation of the events taking place. The guards are ready to take into custody whoever Judas kisses. Truth here collides with betrayal, absolute good with evil. The faces of Christ and Judas personify this opposition, this striking contrast.
This is how an art critic describes it Paola Volkova in the video series “Bridge over the Abyss”:
“...The noble, beautiful face of Christ: golden Thick hair, light brow, calm gaze, column of neck, serious, concentrated face. So Christ - like a hero, how amazing handsome man- will then, 100 years later, depict Italian Renaissance. This is very important: not an emaciated face, worn out by suffering, not a body bleeding on the cross, not tortured flesh, but great man, full of strength. And some simple black boar, a black pig, brings his face closer to him! If Christ’s forehead is convex, then his is concave, like a Neanderthal; small eyes under the overhanging forehead bones peer into his eyes.”
Christ is perfect and beautiful, Judas is ugly and fat; clothes cannot hide this. The Cloak of Judas in this fresco is considered one of Giotto's great pictorial achievements. Firstly, no one before him had depicted the draperies of clothing so plausibly describing the contours of the body and conveying the swiftness of movement. Secondly, Giotto’s most interesting compositional decision was to paint Judas’s cloak so that it almost completely covered Christ, as if absorbing him.
Much of what we see in Giott’s “Kiss of Judas” appears for the first time in the history of painting. For the first time, the artist depicts what would later be called a “duel of glances.” For the first time, a ready-made iconographic canon that came from Byzantine painting, is replaced by a realistic scene full of drama and excitement. For the first time, the crowd looks so clearly heterogeneous. The apostle took out a bread knife and, in passion, cuts off the guard’s ear. The priest in the foreground points with his finger: “Take him!” Someone, with his back turned, is pulling someone next to him by the clothes. The guard next to Judas in a high black helmet in a crush steps on the foot of the one standing next to him. And someone (probably an angel) in the background is already blowing a horn, anticipating Christ's Resurrection. Bearded and beardless, dark and fair-haired, with individually different profiles, boots and barefoot, clothed different colors and forms - all of which demonstrate how interested in living reality one becomes italian art with the appearance of Giotto.
The biblical frescoes of the Italian Giotto di Bondone were so different from the Byzantine (Greek) icon painting canon that the artist and art theorist of the 14th-15th centuries. Cennino Cennini wittily remarked: "Giotto translated the Bible from Greek into Latin" .