The Christ in the Cross stands out in different traditions. When Velazquez painted Him, he followed the iconographic model proposed by Francisco Pacheco and he also adhered to other artists' way of depicting the facial expressions of the Christ. This image has sparkled a number of reflections from art historians, but little has been said about the relation that exists between the painting, its patron, and its viewer. Such relation is pivotal in order to understand the function of the image in a certain visual culture. According to Michael Baxandall, religious images have two main functions: as an object of cult and as an object of artistic value. In consequence, the verbal categories that art history has used when referring to the Christ prove that this work of Velazquez cannot be separated from its religious effect, even if it is treated as a work of art.
Keywords:
Christ in the Cross, tradition, function, religious image, verbal categories, eye, visual culture
Author Biography
María de la Luz Ruiz Miranda, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Estudiante mexicana de octavo semestre de la Licenciatura en Historia de la Facultad de Filosofía y Letras de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.
Ruiz Miranda, M. de la L. (2021). Una imagen religiosa como obra de arte. El Cristo crucificado de Velázquez ante la mirada de los devotos. Revista De Teoría Del Arte, (35), pp. 136–154. Retrieved from https://boletinfilologia.uchile.cl/index.php/RTA/article/view/64919
