Christ in Glory

An ancient Christian artistic motif that has long grabbed me is that of Christ in Glory.  This is a depiction of Jesus in heaven, sitting on a throne. There is often a background of a vesica piscus, which is an almond-shaped form, and he is surrounded by the “four evangelists”, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

As I said, this image stirs me, but it has also troubled me. I sought to explore my interior tension through producing a Christ in Glory.

It is interesting that this motif arose when the Emperor Constantine declared Christianity to be the state religion. Early artists portrayed Christ as a common person in everyday life performing miracles. Once Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, artists drew on existing motifs of the Roman god Zeus on his throne and Roman Emperors on their thrones. So although the theological concept is rooted in scripture, there came to be the combining of Christ in Glory and the Power of Rome.

With this in mind, I found that I was resistant to depicting Christ in his human form. I am drawn to Christ as the Cosmic Christ, present in Jesus, but also somehow revealed universally. I ended up representing this through a burst of gold, a burst that represents both the “Big Bang” and the motif of the mandala, found in all religions, signifying wholeness and harmony.

I also had to explore the meaning of the vesica piscus. I was stunned and thrilled to discover that one of its meanings is the womb – a very feminine image of birth and life. Therefore, one interpretation (maybe not what the ancient artists intended) was that the power of Christ emerges from feminine energy. I made the leap in my piece to interpret this as the Virgin Mary. There is a mystery that has been shunted aside by the Protestant Reformation, but still retained in the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. This is that Mary has a unique place in cosmology. When Jesus was in her womb, her blood was his blood, and his blood was her blood. And now, in death Mary and Jesus are united and there is still the fact that she is his mother. (There is much to ponder in this.) I depicted this by painting my vesica piscus burgundy (representing both blood and wine), and having the power of Christ emerge from this. And instead of representing the Four Evangelists, I have placed the Greek symbols of “Jesus the Christ” and “Mary the Mother of God.”

The color arrangement is also deliberate. Using the symbolism of iconography, I began with burgundy (blood) in the middle, green (the temporal world) at the next level, and blue (eternity) on the outer level. This is to represent that Christ in Glory is an expansive energy beginning with the person, going out into the world and embracing eternity.

In short, my Christ in Glory is more of a reflection on Col. 1:16 (“For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him”), than on Matthew 25:31 (““But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.”).