Christus aan het kruis 1935

Curator: What a stark image. It's immediately haunting, wouldn't you say? Editor: Absolutely. It has an arresting quality to it, like a cry frozen in time. You can see in this 1935 linocut by Lodewijk Schelfhout, titled "Christus aan het kruis," that the graphic boldness renders a timeless expression of human suffering. Curator: Timeless indeed! And also decidedly modern. It is, for me, how the agony feels, the internal emotional state... The world made manifest, almost violent. The lines aren’t just lines; they’re the feeling. You can feel them like needles in your skin. Editor: Yes, precisely! It evokes a sense of raw, visceral emotion. This linocut technique, with its deliberate and forceful cuts into the linoleum, embodies the severity of the moment. See how the sun rays from the cross seem almost violent themselves, radiating not just divine presence, but torment. Curator: I wonder... Was Schelfhout perhaps grappling with personal torment in those interwar years? Was he maybe channeling the collective anguish that was present during this time, expressing it here? This Jesus feels vulnerable in a new way, a little more naked... raw in this version, as though he represents humankind itself, struggling to find its footing. Editor: Interesting perspective. It is worth considering that religious imagery often serves as a potent means of addressing cultural anxieties and existential questions. Schelfhout makes us revisit established religious themes. But his rendition seems rooted in a more secular space... Perhaps an appeal to humanity in place of religion. Curator: Which it truly achieves! There's a universal quality to it. The beauty of its grotesque nature pulls me in and keeps me rooted here, feeling all that it communicates. A somber beauty, in truth. Editor: The impact of stark visual narratives is definitely one we should all try to contemplate on, even today.