Blog Post #2

 

         My choice of artwork is called "Ecce Homo and Mater Dolorosa," by Pedro de Mena. This is from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. At first I was a bit confused, I wondered about the title of the art knowing that this is obviously a sculpture of Jesus and Mary. After some research I learned that this title is Latin for "Behold the man" and "Mother of sorrows." "Behold the man!" were the words stated when Jesus was being brutally presented with this crown of thorns. Mary, is birth mother of course was tortured by this image of her son being slowly killed in this manner, which gives her the title of "Mother of sorrows." This sculpture shows you the emotion of both the man and the mother whom were both clearly in distress. You can't help but feel sympathetic over the idea of the situation. This artwork is a 3d form with a medium of wood and paint. I believe the purpose of this was to commemorate the memory of Jesus and Virgin Mary and to construct a meaningful form of their existence. The choice of placement of this piece also illustrates value. This piece was placed in a dark corner while the piece itself is bright; it is even more bright because of where it is placed. There is a lot of texture within the clothing, it is so realistic you can see every wrinkle and every fold. Due to the context being an era of Christ, every bit of this piece is realistic as can be, almost too realistic in a sense. The realism is shown from the clothing, to the illustration of their face expressions, to the choice of what was used to torture Jesus. You get so much emotion from the small details like blood, tears, and scratches that these sculptures seem almost alive. My opinion of the purpose of this art work is exactly what the title expresses. To behold the man and his mother of sorrows is the purpose! To examine every bit of torture visually rather than reading about it as we are used to. Especially since this is 3d it is way more fascinating to see every inch of this man. We get to almost feel the pain in Mary's heart, to imagine how she felt seeing her son the way we are seeing him in this sculpture. And imagine even later when the torture was worse!