Christ of Saint John of the Cross
Salador Dalí
FRANCISCO GOYA, 1788. OIL ON CANVAS.
For modern art critics, it was a mere stunt to depict such a traditional subject. For the traditional, it was sacrilegious to apply such modernity to tradition. For the unskilled eye it was kitsch, lurid nonsense. Only a work by Salvador Dalí could upset all camps equally, and over time cement itself as the most important modern depiction of the crucifixion in the process. Ultimately, every critic from every side was correct – the work is radical as a piece of religious art and overtly banal for a work of surrealist, ‘Dalí’ art. Yet it combines both practices and transcends them, offering a new perspective on an ancient, well told tale. Dali captures a new perspective on Christ, utterly different from any before, and the stroke of true genius is in what it doesn’t show. We are not spoon-fed emotion from reading his expression, we see no blood, no thorns and no nails to tell us of pain. Instead, are left with a suspended body, exquisitely rendered without distraction, and a moment of contemplation. The landscape below is pastoral and simple, a boat and fisherman in Dali’s local port, yet combined with Christ above, Dali said it was the 'nucleus of the atom.. the very unity of the universe, the Christ!’