Description:
frontal view of head with long hair, beard, eyes closed, and halo, several drawn "frames" around central image
Label Text:
It has been suggested that Rouault’s early work as a glass painter has influenced the heavy outlines and glowing colors of his mature painting style. This interest in bright colors and expressionistic brush stroke also comes from his affiliation with the Fauvists in the early 1900s. He trained at the Ecole de Beaux-Arts under Symbolist painter Gustave Moreau and became his favorite student.
Later in Rouault’s career he devoted himself to religious subjects and themes. He became close friends with the existentialist philosopher Jacques Maritain and turned toward a belief in spiritualism. For a while he lived in a closed community led by the Catholic writer J.K. Huysmans. He is often thought of as one of the most important Christian artists of the twentieth century. He painted the face of Christ numerous times.
Christ of the Incas closely resembles another Rouault painting, entitled The Holy Countenance, at the Pompidou Center in Paris. The subject of the Holy Countenance, also known as Veronica’s Veil, was painted by Rouault many times. Legend has it that Veronica, a follower from Jerusalem, met Jesus on his way to Calvary. She offered him her veil to wipe the sweat and blood from his face and when he returned it his image was imprinted on the cloth. In Christ of the Incas Christ’s face seems to float on a rectangular background. Perhaps, it is the imprint of his face on the rectangular cloth. The Holy Countenance is one of the scenes of the passion, also a major subject painted by Rouault.
It is unclear how Christ of the Incas received its title or if there is any connection between this title and Veronica’s Veil. In the sixteenth century Spanish Catholicism was transplanted to Mesoamerica and South America. Many Catholic beliefs were adopted and adapted. Missionaries emphasized the existence and power of God and offered a variety of evidence or reasons for believing in God. More importance was placed on God’s miracles than on any classical or theological arguments. Transplanted Catholicism stressed the raw materials of mystical cult belief; primarily miracles, visions, and signs. The miracle of Veronica’s veil and the sign left by Christ may have been one of these sources of mythical evidence.
Subjects:
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