The Miracle of the Gaderene Swine 1883

Curator: Briton Riviere, born in 1840, offers us a rather dramatic scene with his painting, "The Miracle of the Gaderene Swine," currently held in the Tate collection. Editor: It's chaos in amber tones, isn't it? Like some ancient photograph of…well, madness! The diagonal sweep of the cliff, the frantic energy of the figures… Curator: Indeed. Riviere captures this biblical moment through a masterful manipulation of line and form. Note the contrast between the smooth, almost classical rendering of the human figures. Editor: And the bristling, almost frantic brushwork in the mass of swine. You feel their panic, the headlong rush towards oblivion. A wild, terrifying ballet in oil paint. Curator: Precisely. It’s a powerful visual representation of faith and its consequences, rendered with remarkable technical skill. Editor: It makes you wonder, doesn't it, about the cost of miracles.