Today's Gospel in Art - Holy Saturday

Concetto Spaziale, Attese, by Lucio Fontana 1962, © Christie's Paris, 20 October 2017, lot 24b, sold for €4.2 million

Gospel of 11th April 2020

After the sabbath, and towards dawn on the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala and the other Mary went to visit the sepulchre. And all at once there was a violent earthquake, for the angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled away the stone and sat on it. His face was like lightning, his robe white as snow. The guards were so shaken, so frightened of him, that they were like dead men. But the angel spoke; and he said to the women, 'There is no need for you to be afraid. I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said he would. Come and see the place where he lay, then go quickly and tell his disciples, "He has risen from the dead and now he is going before you to Galilee; it is there you will see him." Now I have told you.' Filled with awe and great joy the women came quickly away from the tomb and ran to tell the disciples.

And there, coming to meet them, was Jesus. 'Greetings' he said. And the women came up to him and, falling down before him, clasped his feet. Then Jesus said to them, 'Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers that they must leave for Galilee; they will see me there.'

Reflection on the Arte Povera Painting

In Flanders, where I am from originally, we call Holy Saturday, 'Stille Zaterdag'. Translated literally: Silent Saturday. We are after the Crucifixion and await the Resurrection… there seems to be no movement, no hope, everything is quiet… It was the Sabbath day for the Jewish people, resting. But in this silence, God is present and at work.

Today is the day between the horrendous death of Christ, and the raising of His body

The day between the struggle and the solution

The day between despair and hope

The day between the question and the answer

The day between death and life

The day between our prayers and our prayers being answered

The day between the shouts of torture and the shouts of joy

… today we do what Jesus did… lie still… stay silent and trust in God….

A simple painting was needed for today, just in the one colour, reflecting the silence. Red, for obvious reasons. This painting by Italian Arte Povera artist Lucio Fontana came to mind. It is a simple red canvas, with five slashes. They remind me of Christ's wounds as He lies there in the grave, alone. The Arte Povera movement grew in Italy in the 1960s, and as the name indicates, they created art with the most minimalist of materials and compositions. When Fontana discovered the simplicity and elegance of his slashed paintings, he gave his paintings the subtitle of 'attesa' which in Italian means waiting, or hopeful expectation… Exactly the hopeful expectation we have on this silent Saturday… awaiting the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ tonight!…

Today's story - https://christianart.today/reading.php?id=387

Christian Art Today - https://christianart.today

and Holy Week through 100 paintings - www.indcatholicnews.com/news/39289