MADRID (AP) – A poster in the southern Spanish city of Seville depicting a young, handsome Jesus wearing only a loincloth has sparked a storm on social media, with some calling it an insult to the image and others calling it vile. Some people post nasty or mean comments. Memes making fun of images.
The poster, painted by internationally known Seville artist Salustiano García Cruz, depicts a clean-faced Jesus without a crown of thorns, without a tormented face, and without the slightest blemish on his hands or ribcage. . It was commissioned and approved by the General Council of the Brotherhood, which organizes a well-known and very popular organization. holy week procession Before Easter in Seville.
As soon as it was released last week, it sparked widespread criticism on social media and debate over how the risen Christ should be portrayed. Many criticized it as disgraceful, inappropriate, too beautiful, modernist, and out of keeping with Seville’s Easter traditions.
Spain has a Catholic majority, and church traditions such as marriages, baptisms, and religious parades are very popular among believers and non-believers alike. A campaign on Change.org calling for the Jesus poster to be taken down has gathered around 14,000 signatures from across the United States.
Artist Garcia defended his work and dismissed the poster’s critics as outdated.
“There is nothing revolutionary in this painting,” Garcia told Atlas News Agency. “Although there is contemporaneity, all the elements I used are elements that have been used in sacred art over the past seven centuries.
“I don’t know at what point or what elements people who don’t like it will dislike it,” he said.
In a separate interview published in the daily newspaper El Mundo, Garcia responded to criticism from conservative groups that his portrayal of Jesus was “effeminate” or “homosexual.”
“Gay Christ because you look nice and handsome, come on! We’re in the 21st century,” Garcia said.
The artist said he used his son Horacio as a model for the poster.
“We were even more surprised because everything was done with respect,” Horacio García told Atlas.
“A lot of controversy stems from the fact that the models are too good, that Christ is too handsome, that Christ is too attractive,” he said. However, it wasn’t all bad. Horacio Garcia also said he received many compliments and well wishes from people.
The General Council of the Brotherhood has so far ignored calls to replace the posters before Holy Week at the end of March. In the past few years, some posters for various Catholic festivals have been removed after receiving criticism.
Seville Mayor José Luis Sanz called the controversy “artificial”.
“I like this poster,” he said, adding that not all Holy Week posters are the same every year. “Some posters are more dangerous, some are more classic, and some are bolder.”