More than 22,000 people have signed a petition protesting a “homosexual” painting of a half-naked Jesus commissioned to celebrate Easter Week in the Andalusian city of Seville, signaling the start of a new culture war in Spain. are doing.
This spring, the Council of Religious Brethren, which organizes Easter events, commissioned artist Salustiano Garcia to create a painting to promote the celebration. Garcia told local reporters that the version of the risen Jesus, painted on a flat red background, was modeled after his son Horacio.
The petition against García’s work is being organized by an association called the Spanish Christian Lawyers Foundation, which describes itself online as a “national private foundation defending Christian-inspired values in the legal field.” The signatories are calling for the images to be removed and for the resignation of Francisco Vélez, president of the Council of Brethren. The City Council has been contacted for comment.
“People who see dirt in a painting are just projecting their own inner dirt onto the image. I wanted to focus on the brightest parts. [of Easter],revival. And stay true to my style of working in collaboration with people and living things rather than copying images,” Garcia told the British newspaper. times.
Meanwhile, Javier Navarro, head of the Seville branch of the far-right party Vox, wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “The issue is not one of artistic taste, but whether the poster serves its intended purpose. [does not encourage] The faithful’s enthusiastic participation in Holy Week in Seville. It’s clear that this poster was looking for a provocation and a council. [of brotherhoods] I allowed it. ”
But LGBTQ+ advocacy groups defended Garcia. Chilean campaign group Mobile Chile posted on X: “Anti-Semitism is to blame for the outpouring of homophobia in Seville.”[gay] Rights groups thought the statue of Jesus, painted by artist Salustiano Garcia, was too effeminate and homosexual. ”
Journalist Ben Lawrence writes for a British newspaper telegramHowever, he points out that “since the Renaissance, artistic depictions of Jesus Christ have erroneously progressed toward risqué.” Initially, artists were influenced by neoclassical ideas and appreciated ancient Greek art, with all its glorious nudity, portraying Jesus as a glorious figure with muscular muscles and sinews, a figure to be worshiped. At the same time, I tried to make him a person who should be objectified. ” Lawrence quotes Caravaggio’s work The incredible things about San Tommaso (c. 1601-1602), adding that Christ’s “physicality dominates the work.”