Antonio Ciseri's Painting 'Ecce Homo'

http://www.restoredtraditions.com/behold_man_jesus_Antonio_ciseri.aspx

We've found this image (Ecce Homo – Behold the Man) to be helpful for meditation on the Passion. One of the reasons it is such an aid is because it leaves much for the imagination. Specifically, we don't see the faces of Jesus or Pilate from the front (as is usually the case in art). Instead, we have a view from the rear of the scene, as if from the view of a roman servant in waiting.

What pulls the eye in right away, of course, is the central scene of Pilate displaying Jesus to the Jews and saying 'Behold the Man.' Even if the title of this painting wasn't "Ecce Homo," it's still simple to derive that this is indeed the moment the artwork captures. Notice the motion of Pilate's arm, pointing towards Christ, the crown of thorns barely visible on Christ's head, and the exposed back indicating the recent flagellation.

When the eye wanders more through the painting, it will notice the most visible face in the entire image: that of the woman on the right. The look of anguish on her face, her outstretched arm embracing her friend (or servant perhaps) for emotional support—all indicate that this figure would be none other than the wife of Pontius Pilate.

"And as he (Pontius Pilate) was sitting in the place of judgment, his wife sent to him, saying: Have thou nothing to do with that just man; for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him." Matt 27:19

If it was her explicit wish for her husband to have nothing to do with a just man, then her emotional pain displayed in the picture makes perfect sense. The moment Pilate begins to announce that he has tortured the Christ, her heart sinks as the realization truly sets in that her husband displayed cruelty to the just man, despite her warnings. She turns from his side and begins slowly withdrawing—the moment captured in this painting.

We can relate to the agony of Pilate's wife by inserting how our own sins have caused the suffering of Jesus. The brilliance of the perspective of Pilate's wife is that she, apparently, had no idea that Jesus was God or that he was dying for ours sins. If she had so much sorrow simply because she sensed that something was awry and unjust, imagine how great her sorrow could have been had she known the sublime and grim reality of what was happening before her eyes.

Download the high-resolution image of Ecce Homo

Why St. Cyril was a Trooper

After taking a look at the life of St. Cyril, it’s easy to see him as a man who always came into a situation with both barrels blazing. Seriously, Cyril took no prisoners. When he became Patriarch of Alexandria in 412, he “assembled a mob” that booted out a certain group of people who had been persecuting Christians in the area.

Before Cyril became Patriarch, he had to survive a riot that ensued due to a rivalry for the Patriarchy.

After Cyril became Patriarch of Alexandria, he went at it with the prefect of Egypt, Orestes, who thought Cyril was a rival to his authority and was also irate that Cyril kicked out of Egypt that certain group of people who had been persecuting Christians. Yes, you guessed it, a serious brawl ensued as a result of the conflict between Cyril and Orestes. 500 (yes, five hundred) monks came swinging out of the lower deserts of Egypt (Nitria) to defend Cyril. Can you imagine 500 men with big beards and worn-monastic habits storming into a fight against Oreste's soldiers? One word comes to mind: Fortitude. One of the monks actually beamed Orestes with a rock during the skirmish. Orestes had the stone slinging  monk tortured; the monk died as a result. Cyril actually honored the remains of the rock lobbing monk for a time.

 

Cyril, in league with Pope Celestine I, is most known for intellectually duking it out with Nestorius, who was the Patriarch of Constantinople (present day Istanbul). At one point, the Emperor (Theodosius II) had both Nestorius and Cyril arrested. The emperor, however, cut Cyril loose after Papal Legates showed up on his doorstep saying that Pope Celestine endorsed Cyril’s condemnation of Nestorius.

 

So what was the big deal with Nestorius? Well, he promoted the heresy of Nestorianism, which says that “Mary was not the Mother of God since Christ was Divine and not human, and consequently she should not have the word theotokos (God-bearer) applied to her.”

 

Cyril was the bedrock for the third general Council of Ephesus in 431, which declared Nestorianism a Heresy. Oddly enough, a group of bishops that sided with Nestorius convened their own council after the one at Ephesus and deposed Cyril (this is the point where Cyril and Nestorius got arrested by the Emperor).

 

But the biggest reason why St. Cyril of Alexandria is a ‘Trooper’ is his doctrine, which has been quoted by multiple Church councils—Cyril has the title Doctor of the Church. Here is an excerpt from his book on the Divine Motherhood of Mary:

 

“In the third book of his work on the holy and consubstantial Trinity, our father Athanasius, of glorious memory, several times refers to the holy Virgin as "Mother of God." I cannot resist quoting his own words: "As I have often told you, the distinctive mark of holy Scripture is that it was written to make a twofold declaration concerning our Savior; namely, that he is and has always been God, and that for our sake in these latter days he took flesh from the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and became man."

 

We chose this quote because it ties Saints Cyril and Athanasius together, which are the two Saints who appear in the icon we have on our Website.

 

Source: St. Cyril of Alexandria from the Catholic Encyclopedia
 

St. John Lateran's by Piranesi

The featured image this week is called "St. John Lateran's" by Giovanni Battista Piranesi. This particular image is a photograph of an an antique, hand-colored engraving. In this case, we wanted to leave the look of the original image intact as much as possible. This is why it still has an overall 'brown' look and also why you can see the plate marks around the border of the image.

The Most Popular Catholic Artwork Today

For several years now, our Website users at Restored Traditions have favored the following 25 images of Catholic artwork. Click on any image to download it in high-resolution. Enjoy!

Cowboy Praying the Rosary 
                                           by Don Smith

The Prayer 
                                           by Bouguereau

Jesus My Lord and My God
                            

The Bread of Life

The Elevation

Thy Will be Done 
                                           by C.B. Chambers

St. Therese Visiting
                                           The Holy Family

                                 

Madonna and the Child

                                           by Sassoferrato

Queen of Angels 
                                           by Bouguereau

L'Innocence 
                                           by Bouguereau

Song of the Angels 
                                           by Bouguereau

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel

Christ the King

Christ at 33 
                                           by Hofmann

Come Unto Me 
                                           by C.B. Chambers

Madonna of the Rosary 
                                           by C.B. Chambers

Our Lady of the Bowed Head

The Sacred Heart

The Immaculate Heart 
                                           by C.B. Chambers

The Sacred Heart 
                                           by C.B. Chambers

The Immaculate Heart 
                                           by Zabateri

Ecce Homo (behold the man)
                                           by A. Ciseri

Compassion 
                                           by Bouguereau

It is Consummated 
                                           by C.B. Chambers

The Resurrection 
                                           by Carl Bloch

The Refuge of the Shepherdess within the Crucifix Shrine

The featured image this week is called 'Refuge' by an unknown artist. The beauty of this image is the three messages that are portrayed. The young shepherdess has sought physical refuge within the protection of the Crucifix shrine. Christ on the Cross watches over her spiritually (protecting her from the storms of life) while, at the same time, affording her physical protection from the raging storm. Finally, she clutches closely a white lamb in her arms, the lamb being a figure of the Christ referenced multiple times in the Old & New Testaments.

"I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Blessed are they that wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb: that they may have a right to the tree of life, and may enter in by the gates into the city." Apocalypse 22:13-14 Source

The Standard

The featured picture this week is an image of an antique engraving entitled "The Standard." The courage of the Catholic priest is superbly shown in this image. The rage of a battle is howling all around, while the priest fearlessly helps move a wounded soldier. Why this artwork is called "The Standard," one can only speculate. There is no visible 'standard' in the image so, perhaps, the intention of the artist was to display 'The Standard' of charity—caring for our fellow man for the sole purpose of bringing glory to God. 

What Our Savior Saw From the Cross

What Our Savior Saw From the Cross

We want you to experience the quality of our images without having to pay a dime, which is why this high-resolution, Catholic-art image is free for you to download. Make sure to visit us next week for another free, High-Resolution art download.

The featured picture this week is a painting in the French Victorian Neoclassical style by James Jacques Joseph Tissot (1836-1902) This painting renders a unique view of the Crucifixion on Mount Calvary: the view of Jesus hanging from the Cross. The kneeling figure at the bottom of the image appears to be Mary Magdalene, while Our Lady appears to be standing in the center with Saint John to her right. The high-priests sit on their mules off to the right of the image while the Centurion, St. Longinus, is off to the upper left of the picture. To the left and right  of Saint Longinus are two sitting, Roman soldiers with lances—quite possibly one of the same lances that Longinus would later use to pierce the side of Jesus.

Thanksgiving on the Field of Agincourt

For this week, this high-resolution image is free for you to download on our Website. Image is public domain and royalty free. 


Artist: Edmund Blair Leighton (1853-1921)

Title: Thanksgiving Service on the Field of Agincourt
King Henry V of England kneels in the background, crown on ground, on the field of Agincourt where had just been fought an epic battle between English and French. The kneeling priest in the foreground leads the soldiers in prayers of thanksgiving for their victory, which God had granted them. The priest and crossbearer are the only figures with their mouths open, thus indicating the intonation of one of the hymns that King Henry commanded to be sung in thanksgiving and charity:

"Do we all holy rites;
Let there be sung 'Non Nobis' and 'Te Deum;'
The dead with charity enclosed in clay."
From Shakespeare's Henry V

Free

This High-Resolution, Catholic-art image is free for you to download. Make sure to visit us next week for another free, High-Resolution art download.

The featured picture this week is a painting by William Adolph Bouguereau entitled 'The Prayer.' The innocence of a child's prayer is captured in the life-like drama of Bouguereau's exquisite style. Some speculate that this particular rendition was meant, by the artist, to be the Blessed Virgin Mary as a child. Yet, since there is not even the faintest hint of a halo around the young woman's head, it remains mere speculation as the Virgin is traditionally depicted with some form of a halo. Regardless, this painting remains a classic manifestation of the physical beauty of Bouguereau's subject and the metaphysical splendor of the theme: transcendence of the soul to God through prayer.

Larger Images, More Art Info.

Our Advent sale is still in full swing, and we're happy to announce that we've completed adding more detailed information to each image listed on our site. Each high-resolution image now has a more detailed description of its origin i.e. artist, art style, time line of the artist and full painting title. For a more informed decision on each image, we've also included the largest suggested print size for each image.

If you're not in the market for buying our high-resolution, Catholic images, we hope that you can at least find our information as a valuable resource for whatever project you may be working on.

The next project, which we are only half-way done with right now, is adding larger images. In order for you to view larger images, we've incorporated a non-invasive watermark on each image: 'RestoredTraditions.com,' which will not appear on the purchased JPEG image file. Visit this Madonna & Child image for a better idea.

We hope you continue to have a blessed and penitential Advent, along with a holy Christmas!