Crucifixion

The Crucifixion and Freedom of Artistic Expression

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Bartolomé Estebán Murillo 1675 Cristo_crucificado, extract from the painting

Medieval painters engaged in a form of reverse cultural appropriation by drawing on the classical Roman period in their religious depictions of the crucifixion. Depicting Jesus on the cross covered in a white loincloth is a misrepresentation of the crucifixion: the Romans crucified Jesus naked, the church reclaimed the image, but covered his nudity to make it culturally acceptable to its followers.

Our modesty towards nudity

The most famous crucifixion in the world took place when Jesus was put to death by the Romans. He was far from the only person who perished on the cross. In ancient times, countless people were crucified. At the time, it was one of the most cruel, brutal, and shameful ways to die. In Rome, the crucifixion process was lengthy, involving torment before the victim was nailed and hung on the cross.

For 500 years the Romans perfected crucifixion until Constantine I abolished it in the fourth century AD.

Because crucifixion was considered an extremely shameful way to die, Rome tended not to crucify its own citizens. But slaves, disgraced soldiers, Christians, foreigners, and political activists often lost their lives in this way.

The practice became especially popular in the Holy Land during the Roman occupation. In 4 BC, the Romans crucified over 2,000 Jews. There were even mass crucifixions during the first century AD. Jesus was crucified on the grounds that he had incited rebellion against Rome, a similar condemnation that was applied to zealots and political activists.

Crucifixion was a public spectacle designed to prolong the agony and the ordeal could last for several days. During the preparation of the prisoner for execution, and during the execution itself, sexual humiliation played an important role.

We are all used to seeing depictions of Jesus on the cross covered in a white loincloth. But the Romans crucified their victims naked. Part of the torture of crucifixion was the humiliation of hanging naked with possibly an erection that resulted from the position of a body suspended by the arms. Jesus was stripped naked before being tortured to death and that is how he died: naked, possibly with an erection . The erection is the result of a natural physiological reaction, as opposed to sexual stimulation, when the body is suspended by the arms.

Naked crucifixion?

Historians have pointed out that crucifixion was not only a painful execution, but also a public humiliation. That is why the victims were crucified naked: a final insult. Jesus was not covered in order to maintain his dignity while dying on the cross. He was stripped and exposed. It is difficult for us, in this age of easy access to images of nudity and pornography, to understand the great humiliation suffered by being exposed to all, naked on the cross.

Since the Middle Ages, while crucifixes have generally depicted Jesus wearing a loincloth, this image is intended to satisfy religious traditionalists. Historically, crucifixion victims were naked.

Four great masters depicting an image of Jesus on the cross, as perceived since the Middle Ages: Peter Paul Rubens c. 1618, Michelangelo, 1540, Bartolomé Estebán Murillo 1675 and Diego Eelasquez,. 1545. According to the conventions of the time and in harmony with their patrons, all depicted Jesus with a white loincloth, thus protecting his nudity. This practice continues to this day, in line with a reductive religious vision.

Michelangelo's sculpture of Jesus Nude (1492), housed in the Basilica of Santo Spirito in Florence, is a striking and unusual work. Made of wood, it shows Jesus in his human vulnerability. This rare nude representation illustrates both his divinity and his incarnation, emphasizing a profound spiritual realism. Jesus is depicted with the body of a young man, probably about 12 years old.

Nudity in our society

The issue of nudity in art has always been a source of controversy. For the sake of argument, I will differentiate between "published" nudity, that which is found in the public domain, as opposed to the private nudity of domestic life.

Contemporary American artist Edward Knippers produced hundreds of large-scale paintings based on biblical mythology, depicting the crucifixion of the naked Jesus, according to the Roman tradition of the time.

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In the artistic field and for our Judeo-Christian society, the representation of the human body is an unavoidable and controversial subject. Behind this great theme, it is the very notion of beauty and truth that is at the forefront. Critical discourse must apply in our questioning of the representation of the nude. Traditional questions, including the notions of beauty, truthfulness, authenticity, gender, politics, the economy of sexuality, the exploitation of the body, all these questions of a social nature are essential to position the representation of the nude in the field of art.

Contemporary depiction of Jesus on the cross naked, by American artist Amber Cobelle, inspired by traditional Renaissance depictions.

In our prudish society, highly exposed to pornography, the issue of the representation of nudity in the artistic field is often contested. It is not a question of seeing how right-wing political-religious groups have imposed their demands on social media. This fight against pornography in social media is inspired by the value that "sex is bad, dirty and shameful."

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The controversy created by the advertising campaign for the show by the Troupe Marie Chouinard in February 2023 is a demonstration that nudity is disturbing. The promotional campaign was banned by Facebook and the promoter Danse Danse was threatened with having all of its communications removed from the Facebook platform. Photo: Sylvie Ann Paré

Photography, perhaps more than other forms of artistic media, through its ease of producing pornographic material, raises ethical questions about the distribution of material using nudity. For what are called "consenting" nudes, the potential for inspiration of an image can be as much artistic as sexual. Separating the two sides leaves the door wide open to protest. Faced with the flood of sexually explicit photographs, the Meta and YouTube of this world prefer to keep the door closed to everyone. Creators who wish to use the body as a source of artistic inspiration find themselves left behind.

If Jesus' crucifixion were to happen today, we could count on the right-thinking to ensure that no nudity was visible by pulling up his loincloth to his neck. Sensitive souls would demand that the expressions of suffering on his face be reduced to a minimum so as not to traumatize fragile people. And we would demand that he be taken down from the cross as quickly as possible in order to clean up the site. Because, of course, current events don't wait: we have to move on to the next tragedy. Perhaps a train that has just derailed, a huge traffic jam caused by a truck that caught fire on Highway 40, or a demonstration for the defense of the environment that is blocking the Jacques-Cartier Bridge.