Gospel in Art: You look handsome on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones

Pilgrims Going to Mecca, by Léon Belly, 1861 © Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 30 August 2023
Matthew 23:27-32

Jesus said: 'Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who are like whitewashed tombs that look handsome on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of corruption. In the same way you appear to people from the outside like good honest men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

'Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who build the sepulchres of the prophets and decorate the tombs of holy men, saying, "We would never have joined in shedding the blood of the prophets, had we lived in our fathers' day." So! Your own evidence tells against you! You are the sons of those who murdered the prophets! Very well then, finish off the work that your fathers began.'

Reflection on the painting

It is clear from today's Gospel reading that Jesus is more interested in how people are in their heart than in how they appear. He wants his followers to attend first to what is within - their basic attitudes, generosity and values - and not to be worried about appearances. Jesus uses very strong language to make his point: 'You who are like whitewashed tombs that look handsome on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of corruption'.

If what is within is right, then it will show itself in how we appear to others.

All throughout the Gospels we know that Jesus had a very strong aversion to pretence. He looks for openness and honesty, a harmony between who we are in reality and how we appear to others. But he also knows that none of us are achieving this. There is always an element when we meet others, even our close friends, to put up a more positive front. Jesus recognises that we are all on the way… we have not yet arrived… we are pilgrims… doing our best. But he does want us to be honest pilgrims.

And we are all pilgrims indeed, even non-Christians. Our painting by Léon Belly from 1861 is titled Pilgrims Going to Mecca. It is a very large work (160cm x 242cm) and won a first class medal at the Paris Salon of 1861. It is a masterpiece of orientalist painting. Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects of the Eastern world, and became very popular in the late 19th century. As an art movement, Orientalist painting is generally treated as one of the many branches of 19th-century academic art. The work depicts a caravan of Muslims going on the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. In 1856, the artist had come across such a caravan while he was in Egypt and then worked for nearly three years to create this work. The precision with which Belly depicts both the camels and the human figures gives this painting an almost photographic quality. Belly was concerned to portray an ethnographically realistic image of a pilgrimage, depicting people from various backgrounds.

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/matthew-23-27-32-2023/