The Resurrection of Lazarus 

Peter Paul Rubens painted "The Resurrection of Lazarus" during the Counter-Reformation, a period when the Catholic Church sought to reaffirm its spiritual authority through grand, emotionally charged art. Rubens captures the moment when Jesus calls Lazarus back to life, a spectacle that combines the divine and the corporeal. What's striking is the intersection of vulnerability and power. The women, kneeling and looking upwards, represent both faith and submission within a patriarchal religious structure. Lazarus emerges, his body still pale and fragile, caught between death and life, challenging conventional narratives of masculinity. Rubens uses light and shadow to create an emotional intensity, drawing us into the scene. This depiction encourages us to confront our own understanding of mortality, spirituality, and the complex interplay of gender and power within religious contexts.