The Painting of the Last Judgment

[TheCosmicGospel]

Luther refers to a painting in his commentary on John 6 from LW. It is a picture of the Last Judgment. He calls it blasphemous. In it Jesus shows His wounds to the Father and Mary His mother is appealing,

He says the Pope instigated a works approach to satisfy Jesus and uses His mother as the one who is merciful. Quite revealing and intriguing. I wonder if anyone has seen this painting.

It explains a lot of the Catholic fanatacism towards Mary. It explains their avid appeal to Mary and the persistent use of good works.

My question then is this, if Mary is still the one to appeal to and works their approach to atone for sins, then do they still see Jesus as the ultimate Judge?

Cheers,
Cosmic

 

[Plutonius]

I think we should allow a Catholic to properly answer this. Perhaps you should post this question in their forum. They certainly are more qualified, and knowledgeable then I regarding such matters.

 

[LilLamb219]

This posting got me curious to try to find which The Last Judgment painting Luther was referring to. Alas, there are way too many to try to dig through and none of the very famous ones show this.

As an artist, I enjoy art history...the Church would commission religious paintings from artists and not all artists had free reign of how a painting should be. So, if the theology wasn't right, don't always blame it on the artist

 

[porterross]

I think he's referring to Michelangelo's work on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel.
Am I correct? If so, I am of the understanding that it was a very personal exercise and expression of his take on the corrupt behavior of mankind, having forsaken God and doomed themselves to His wrath. He was at the time, heavily influenced by other artists and writings, such as Dante.
Art is not always properly interpreted without knowledge of the creator's mindset or commission. Given the turmoil in the church at the time it was painted (ca. 1530-1540), the message is somewhat understandable.

 

[LilLamb219]

http://annotated-painting.blogspot.com/2006/04/michelangelo-last-judgement.html

Here is a link to Michelangelo's The Last Judgment...I don't see how it fits with the description that TheCosmicGospel wrote.

 

[porterross]

Then it could be Pietro Cavallini's 13th century work.

With Cosmic, it's hard to guess where he's coming from.

 

[LilLamb219]

Hmm...but Mary isn't in that one. Unless there is more than one. Sometimes artists do more than one painting on a topic.

 

[porterross]

There is another wall painted with such images in Rome. I'll have to look, though. It's not in any of my textbooks or the Vatican Museum collection book I have.

 

[Studeclunker]

The painting displayed with the hyperlink is the wrong one. I seem to remember a lesson on this many years ago and the painting had a lot of skeletons and such in it. It was very dark and a bit scary. The midieval Catholics used this kind of dark and frightening imagery to scare the common population into submission. Not only did they want to protect their own power base, but the aristocracy which supported them. Therefore, the ignorant, illiterate, masses were presented with this kind of iconography to keep them under control. This is the reason that Lennin called religion 'the opiate of the masses'. The Catholic church was so inextricably wedded to the... Well there I go. Sorry.

 

[synger]

This posting got me curious to try to find which The Last Judgment painting Luther was referring to. Alas, there are way too many to try to dig through and none of the very famous ones show this.

As an artist, I enjoy art history...the Church would commission religious paintings from artists and not all artists had free reign of how a painting should be. So, if the theology wasn't right, don't always blame it on the artist

Try looking at some of these paintings to see what he might have been complaining about. They are from English churches, but it seems to have been a pretty common theme. THe one from Great Harrowdon was particularly clear.

Here's another good site talking about Doom paintings, with a very clear Dutch one.

And, of course, here is the obligatory Wikipedia article.

 

[synger]

Michelangelo's Last Judgement also shows Mary as a supplicant at Jesus' feet. This site shows you details, including one of Jesus and Mary

 

[porterross]

Yes, it's a wonderfully complex and dark work. I studied it a bit in college, but not nearly enough, IMO. We were more focused on Michelangelo than the work itself. It was an elective Art History class, but favorite enough that is one of the few elective text books I still have.

 

[LilLamb219]

Thanks, Synger. I've viewed those paintings and even studied most of them in Art History. I'm just not sensing that any of these are the ones Luther spoke of according to how TheCosmicGospel wrote about it in his OP.

 

[TheCosmicGospel]

Then it could be Pietro Cavallini's 13th century work.

With Cosmic, it's hard to guess where he's coming from.

Stop! I resemble that remark.

You can find a bunch of paintings here.

www.textweek.com/art/last_judgment.htm

Look at Jan Provost, 1525.

To get the context of what Luther is saying, it might be helpful to read his commentary on John 6. He does talk about paintings.

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, one could begin to see how Mary is ingrained in the minds of the people as the one to appeal to. What if we had a history tied up in some belief that had iconic and pretty fantastic images as that presented to us over and over for 900 years?

Mary is on Jesus' right hand. In one painting everyone is bearing a sword but Mary. She is baring a breast. The milk of compassion.

One of the "Dooms" is captioned that "The Virgin and a kneeling figure, probably John the Baptist, beg Him to be merciful."

Keep peeking.

Cheers,
Cosmic

 

[LilLamb219]

LOL I went through that entire list...except the ones painted AFTER Luther died

Just having Mary present in a painting really isn't a horrible thing.

 

[LilLamb219]

LOL I went through that entire list...except the ones painted AFTER Luther died

Just having Mary present in a painting really isn't a horrible thing.

 

[synger]

I think the problem is not that she is present.. but that she is in an attitude of supplication. In almost all of these paintings, she is seen as interceding... entreating... pleading with Christ on the behalf of the sinners.

THAT is the problem, as I see it. The figures at Christ's feet in all these paintings, whether they be just Mary on his right, or with an additional saint on his left, represent the prayers and "merits" of the saints interceding with Christ on our behalf.

Do I think it's a big deal now? No, probably not. Modern folks don't necessarily look at these paintings in the same way, nor understand the symbolism the way a medieval person would who sees them every week. But I can see why Luther thought it was a big enough deal to mention it in his commentary. And why it was a big enough deal that most Reformed and Presybterian churches (among others) don't have stained glass windows.

 

[LilLamb219]

I'm not saying that there are paintings where Mary is portrayed as the co-redemptrix (wrongly), but these paintings on the pages of the links given really do not show that. We know as Lutherans that the saints DO PRAY for us and yes, in some paintings Mary is praying along with other saints within the painting as well.

 

[LilLamb219]

Could Luther have possibly been referring to a painting he had seen in church from boyhood? Here's a link on a paper someone wrote:

http://www.ntrmin.org/Luthers Theology of Mary.htm
[FONT=&quot]While emphasis on Anne is usually explicit in Luther’s story, Mary’s impact on the young Luther is often overlooked. Historian Robert Fife attempted to paint a graspable image of Luther the child in the realm of saint and Mary veneration:[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The Virgin Mother and the saints greeted the eyes of a boy from alter and windows, and their glory became familiar in prayers and hymns. Here love and pity, protection and help came to him clothed in warm humanity. The Virgin, whose song, the Magnificat… was usually sung at vesper services. Her figure sank into his memory as she appears at the last judgement, showing to her Son the breasts that suckled Him and pleading for mercy on mankind. Singing the Litany and the Rogations in the choir he learned to know the saints, and these brief figures gave him protection against the severity of the Judge and the wiles of the demons. The shining form of the saints stamped themselves enduringly on the boy’s imagination.[/FONT]

 

[TheCosmicGospel]

Jesus said "come to Me" in John 6. So I think it is a big problem today or 500 years when anyone stands in the way of that simple and clear direction. The paintings give insight to me at least why some prefer Mary instead of approaching the "Christ Judge". And the theology that gave rise to those pictures continues to persist today out of Rome. And so many continue to appeal to Mary so that "Jesus might be merciful".

One read of Luther in John 6 shows why these concerns are still valid today.

Cheers,
Cosmic