accuracy

Father Forgive Them

People have asked what my inspiration was for the painting Father Forgive Them, there were two.

The first was poor health. During the late 1990s I suffered from a rare form of mononucleosis. Tests showed that I had overcome the virus after several months, but I remained ill. I was weak and lethargic, could not think straight, and my speech was jumbled. The worst symptom was a ringing in my head that lasted six months. My doctor’s efforts to diagnose and treat my problem went nowhere. Time dragged and I spiraled slowly downward. After two years of dragging through each day I was referred to a Gulf War Illness specialist. He put me on an aggressive year-long antibiotic regimen and slowly I began to feel better. By the end of the year I was regaining my strength and stamina and beginning to feel normal. I felt the need to catch up on the life I had missed the past three years.

My second inspiration came in 2000 as I celebrated my regained health by backpacking through Europe . I visited museums everywhere I went and began to notice that there were Crucifixion scenes in most of them, sometimes countless numbers. Virtually every one of them was a frontal view of Christ from straight on or from below. Both the number of Crucifixion paintings, and people’s reactions to them, struck me. These paintings were everywhere and generally overlooked. It was as if, seeing one Crucifixion painting, people had seen them all. Watching people in the museums pass the Crucifixion paintings by, I was inspired...could the Crucifixion be shown in a way that would draw people’s attention? I felt challenged to present the Crucifixion in a way people had not seen before. All the paintings I saw put the viewer before the base of the cross, viewing an execution. None of them captured the interaction between Christ and God.

How do you capture the interaction between Christ and God? I studied the Bible to find a way to portray the pivotal moment that I feel defines Christianity. From my readings I learned that Christ had a choice to make as He hung on the cross. He could call on God to rain a Father’s wrath on mankind, or He could forgive mankind and take their sins upon Himself. When He uttered “Father forgive them for they know not what they do,” Christ chose to forgive. This decision has shaped much of world history in the last 2000 years. I decided to try and capture this powerful moment in history.

One evening I had a vision of the finished painting. A large part of my art is conceived through visions or dreams which remain in my mind until I put them on canvas. It took a year to materialize the vision of Father Forgive Them. Painting it challenged me more than I imagined possible, and as I worked, putting my vision on canvas became cathartic.

Becoming immersed in portraying Christ’s suffering helped me release the pain, anger and frustrations I felt from being sick for those three endless years. I felt my illness robbed me of an important part of my youth. What had I ever done to deserve such a punishment? Working to portray Christ’s pain on the cross, attempting to symbolize what the Crucifixion meant, I realized I was expressing my own pain. As I painted, my feelings began to surface in my brush strokes. I was laying my burdens on the Christ that I was painting. The experience was unbelievably freeing.

I have been asked about the historical accuracy of Father Forgive Them. The most common question is “Why on earth did you paint Christ’s eyes blue?” The Bible book of Genesis describes the creation of the heavens and earth. It states that God separated the waters above from the waters below, and throughout the New Testament it is stated that the only way to Heaven is through Christ. The blue eyes in Father Forgive Them symbolically portray Christ as the bridge between the waters above and the waters below. Though Christ’s eyes may not have been blue, by painting them this way I was able to tell a deeper story and add new perspective to an old subject. As an artist, I portray an entire story within a single frame using imagery and symbolism to bring the painting to life. If a viewer chooses to explore these attributes they will enrich their experience with the painting. I encourage you to explore the symbolism in Father Forgive Them.

I hope you enjoy the painting.

Arix Zalace