Wednesday, January 02, 2013

The holy family with the bird

The holy family and the bird - Bartolomé Esteban Perez Murillo


When I saw the above painting in the Prado Museum (Madrid), it really caught my eyes. The main reason is the way the painter - Bartolomé Esteban Perez Murillo - pictures Jesus.

The Jesus of the painting is playing in a very childish way with the bird and the dog.

Poor bird, and poor dog, I would say. But the message I get from the painting is that the painter is showing Jesus as a normal child, doing childish things. A very human way to picture Jesus.

Christians usually tend to deny Jesus his humanity. The painter is giving it back.

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