PICTURING THE PASSION: ‘Christ taking leave of his Mother’ by Lorenzo Lotto
The mystery of a fragile limpid God meekly nailed to a humble piece of wood out of His extra – ordinary love for fallen mankind is way too powerful an image to be ignored by art!
The Passion Narrative of Christ has dominated the world of painting, sculpture, music, theatre and other forms of art for ages. From Giotto to Rembrandt, every artist imagined and represented the betrayal, flagellation, humiliation, affliction and the brutal execution of Jesus in a unique way. Through their painful emotions they evoked the faithful to identify with Christ in His suffering and thus share in His salvation. Let us then journey with Jesus through His passion through 12 paintings during this season of Lent.
The first in this series is a heart wrenching farewell between Christ and His Mother. This event is brought to breath by Lorenzo Lotto, an Italian painter, in the year 1521. It marks the beginning of the impeding climax of Christ mission i.e. His passion, death and resurrection. This episode is not accounted for in the Gospel but rather it is narrated at length in the ‘Meditation of the Life of Christ’ by Pseudo Bonaventure.
The sun is low on the horizon and dusk has settled over the land. After His supper at Bethany in the house of Martha and Mary, Christ visits His Mother in order to announce that His time had come. He kneels before her in filial obedience and with solemn sadness says ‘Most Beloved Mother…..the time of redemption is coming. Now all things said of me will be fulfilled and they will do to me what they wish.’ (Chap 72 of the Meditations of the Life of Christ).
The anguish of the atmosphere is heightened by the impact of Christ words. As the Virgin swoons into semi-consciousness, her frail demeanour is supported by the distressed apostle John and Mary Magdalene. The older woman behind them joins her hands in prayer as her eyes of concern caress the afflicted mother.
Beholding this sorrowful scene are the other two apostles: Peter (as identified by the key) and Judas, the traitor. Although the Mediation makes no mention of either, both Peter and Judas find their presence in popular Italian Passion plays. It is to these apostles (the rock and the treasurer) that Mary entrusts her son and it is from them that she receives the most zealous assurances of fidelity to Christ; a fidelity that is broken and a trust that is lost. Their role displayed in the passion plays and paintings enhances the tragedy and the gravity of the scene at hand.
The scene is set within a spacious and harmoniously proportioned medieval hall. The architecture is classical and the space ventilated. Roofed by a barrel vault, soft light pours into the inner field through the hushed porticoes and the colonnades. The melancholy of the hour pervades the air. It is the last meeting between a mother and her son.
The room is suffused by Mariological symbols. Mary, the central protagonist is placed below a luminous oculus. Representing the moon, it symbolises her Immaculate Conception. The background, in the form of the 3 arches not only signifies the Trinity but also hearken the scene of the Annunciation.
The pergola of the garden behind the porch recalls the hortus conclusus (literally an enclosed garden). This iconographical framework is derived from the verses of the Song of Solomon, chapter 4, verse 12: ‘The garden locked is my sister, my bride, a garden locked, a fountain sealed’. Also related to the Annunciation is the bridal bed at the far end and the desk with the open book at the far right.
As Mary recalls the announcement made by the Archangel Gabriel 33 years ago, the pangs that were spared at Bethlehem seem to grow stronger now. As her son kneels before her in the same posture as the Archangel Gabriel had done in her youth, the same question troubles her heart, ‘How can this be?’ And yet once again in solemn obedience she surrenders her will to God. Her constant ‘yes’ resounds salvation!
Her unconditional yes is allegorically depicted through the branch of cherries (paradise) and the orange fruit (purity, chastity and obedience) partially visible in the lowest sections of the painting. When understood separately the cherry branch placed below Christ stands for everlasting life while the orange placed below Mary announce her virtuous qualities and her role as a partaker in the plan of Redemption.
‘Christ taking leave of his Mother’ was intended to hang in the household of Domenico Tassi, a reportedly pious man and the patron of Lotto’s art work. Tassi left his mark in this painting through the portrait of his wife Elizabetta Rota.
Fr. Warner D'Souza is a Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Bombay. He has served in the parishes of St Michael's (Mahim), St Paul's (Dadar East), Our Lady of Mount Carmel, (Bandra), a ten year stint as priest-in-charge at St Jude Church (Malad East) and at present is the Parish Priest at St Stephen's Church (Cumballa Hill). He is also the Director of the Archdiocesan Heritage Museum and is the co-ordinator of the Committee for the Promotion and Preservation of the Artistic and Historic Patrimony of the Church.
Fr Thankyou for sharing the full detail and description of Passion-Christ taking leave of his Mother painting,never knew there was such a painting of Jesus, painting is full of emotion and it reflects how much they have gone through for our salvation 🙏🏼
Beautifully penned, Joynel. Makes me fall in love with the art on the canvas and it’s description. 🙂