Staande Christus met opgeheven armen 1780 - 1849

David-Pierre Giottino Humbert de Superville created this image of a standing Christ with raised arms with pen and brush in the late 18th or early 19th century. At this time in Europe, we see the rise of Romanticism, and in France, the aftershocks of revolution. These events mark a shift in the relationship between institutions and the cultural imagination. This image reflects those transformations. The image draws on a long Christian tradition, but imbues it with a newfound Romantic sensibility. Christ's dramatic pose and flowing drapery evoke a sense of emotional intensity. The artist, trained in the neoclassical tradition, is here reinterpreting his visual inheritance, investing it with the heightened expressiveness valued by the culture of Romanticism. To fully appreciate this drawing, it is essential to consider the social and institutional contexts in which it was made. Art history provides the resources for understanding the changing roles of art and religion in modern society.