Jesús Manantial de Amor 1901

José Garnelo made this painting, Jesús Manantial de Amor, without a known date, using oil on canvas. The hazy brushstrokes and the ethereal glow might make you think of something like a pre-Raphaelite painting – all that idealism slathered on with a brush! I am drawn to the way the thick, almost creamy paint captures the light, especially in the figure of Jesus. Look at how the colours shift and change; the way the water reflects and refracts. See those figures gathered around the stream, seeking solace? The artist’s captured something about the yearning for connection, and how art, like faith, can offer us a space to explore those feelings. It’s a bit like a conversation between different eras and styles, perhaps echoing artists like Titian or even Ingres. And that's what art is, right? A big, ongoing conversation, full of questions and possibilities.