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The Guardian
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
I have seen the light and it's Tracey Emin's Jesus – RA Summer Exhibition review
Halfway through the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition, I was woken up by Jesus (but more on this shortly). Suddenly, as I came to, the whole place appeared alive and more and more good stuff leapt out from the 1,600 works on view. What's that upsidedown stag? It's by the 87-year-old German master Georg Baselitz. As for those convex mirrors above your head, reflecting you and the floor in radical foreshortening, that's an installation by Cornelia Parker. In the same room hang eviscerated animal carcasses hooked up on chains, made of textiles by Tamara Kostianovsky. But it's Jesus who lifts this exhibition out of the ordinary. He moves towards you like a shark in the illusion created by Tracey Emin's painting The Crucifixion. And like a shark, he is frightening. I thought art had lost its capacity to shock. But what can be more shocking than a celebrated 21st-century artist sincerely painting the passion? Emin shows another work before this startling, upsetting show-stopper – an outsized, melancholy portrait print. It makes you wonder and worry: is the artist OK? And even, is the artist any good? This female face is so broadly sketched it's a bit clumsy, and yet you can't forget it. Emin's talent is still raw after all these years and she has painted her masterpiece in the crucifixion. If you doubt her, see this. If you love her, see this. It's a big painting of the three crosses on the hill of Golgotha. Christ is flanked by two other crucified figures, one of whom is a woman – the only departure from iconographic tradition. Emin is a fan of north European art, including Munch. Here she echoes the intense, macabre Three Crosses of German renaissance painter Lucas Cranach. Then again, she may also be echoing The Life of Brian, for there's something cinematic about the way the two side crosses are set back, thrusting Christ's suffering body forward for us to see, to pity. He's got a crown, a beard, a broken harrowed face, painted blue in a yellow desert. His knees are knobbly, legs thin, chest skinny. The curving dark line enclosing the white semi-circle of the hill of Golgotha strongly resembles the way Francis Bacon enclosed his figures in abstract rooms. Like a Bacon bedroom, this barren hilltop represents the prison of existence we all share. The two other victims – two thieves, according to the Bible – share Christ's fate, nailed to massive crosses. Don't we all, says Emin. This is the greatest new painting that's been seen since Lucian Freud died. But was he ever as universal? Emin shows why religious art, whatever your beliefs or lack of them, has a power to portray our common human fragility. People are always being crucified. This modern masterpiece doesn't overwhelm the show but opens your eyes to other strong works. Go and look at George Shaw's painting Survivors 1, which sucks you into its peculiarly British sadness. On a scrap of parkland in front of an estate of featureless houses with blank windows, a leafless tree claws at the drab sky. More trees 'survive' beyond it. If you need cheering up after this blast of depressive Gainsborough, head for Frank Bowling's Red, Yellow and Blue – a tall, slender abstract painting with bits of plastic and medication packaging embedded in it, a fizzing cocktail of gold fire and night blue that seems a homage to Whistler's Nocturnes, but on a grand abstract expressionist scale. The Royal Academy summer show's days of defining the new are usually thought to be long gone. Yet this is a peculiar moment in art, when what is avant garde and what is conservative are messed up. Perhaps this exhibition has a serious, even urgent job to do, with its unique mix of the famous, unknown, impressive and terrible. Who did that huge grotesque portrait of a woman who looks like a Dada montage? A wild amateur? No, Cindy Sherman. It's a shame more of the memorable pieces aren't by unknowns but by and large the art elite justify their prices and honours: Dexter Dalwood, Rose Wylie, Stephen Farthing, Sean Scully, the late Timothy Hyman. At 87, Allen Jones is still perving with panache. There's a strikingly weird painting of two women on the tube by Paulina Olowska. Sign up to Art Weekly Your weekly art world round-up, sketching out all the biggest stories, scandals and exhibitions after newsletter promotion Another excellent painting is Hurvin Anderson's The Harder They Fall, a view of an overcrowded concrete bridge over a river. Anderson lingers on the lush green forest all around. You can see it as an allegory of climate crisis, humanity's hard fall coming. Other effective political artworks include Jock McFadyen's Somewhere in Ukraine, a view of a battered apartment block with battle smoke on the horizon, and Marcus Harvey's Nelson at Trafalgar, which turns the British hero into a mummified corpse. It all kicks off in the courtyard with big black inflatable balls by Ryan Gander, printed with questions: 'How much is a lot?' 'Does abstraction have rules?' Daft but fun, these pseudo-intellectual japes put you in a good mood for an exhibition full of surprises and subtleties. All that, plus the greatest artwork Emin has yet given us. Always look on the bright side of life. Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy, London, from 17 June to 17 August
Daily Mail
17-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Sacred text banned from Bible 'reveals who REALLY dealt final death blow to Jesus'
An ancient text claims to reveal the name of the soldier who pierced Jesus with a spearing, delivinger the final death blow as he hung on the cross. The Gospel of Nicodemus, also known as the Acts of Pilate, was not accepted into the traditional Bible due to debates on the authorship, date and theological consistency. But tucked away in its pages is the name 'Longinus,' noted as the soldier who took a spear, pierced Jesus side where blood and water spilled from. This mirrors the account in John 19:34: 'But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.' Though Longinus is never named in the canonical scriptures, Christian legend has long associated him with the soldier at the crucifixion who witnessed the supernatural events and converted to Christianity. Stories about Longinus were passed down through generations, narrating how he went on to preach the gospel and was killed because of his faith during a time when Christianity was outlawed. There is no historical evidence confirming Longinus was a real person, but there is a striking statue of him that stands beneath the dome of Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. The story of Longinus was recently discussed on the Sunday Cool podcast, where hosts retold the legend of the Roman soldier turned martyr. While the author of the omitted text is mystery, many scholars speculate it was written by Nicodemus, a Pharisee mentioned in the Gospel of John, who assisted in Jesus's burial. However, other experts contend that it was written later, in the 4th century, by an unknown individual. The story of Longinus, while not in traditional Holy Scripture, is one of redemption. Legend has it that he was a Roman centurion under Pontius Pilate, the governor who condemned Jesus to death. Longinus was tasked with standing at the foot of the cross and stabbing Jesus in the side after his legs were broken by other Roman soldiers. According to Eastern Orthodox tradition, Longinus was the one who said, 'Truly this was the Son of God' (Matthew 27:54) following the earthquake that occurred after Jesus' death. The stories have also claimed that the soldiers was nearly blind, but when blood and water rushed from Jesus' side, it feel on his face and restored his sight. According to Christian tradition, Longinus was also believed to be among the soldiers assigned to guard Christ's tomb to stop anyone from stealing the body. When Jesus rose from the dead, the guards were astonished and fled, according to the traditional Bible. But the legend of Longius says Jewish authorities attempted to bribe the soldiers into claiming that the body had been stolen, but he refused. Longius is believed that have returned to his homeland in Turkey, where he continued to spread the message of Christ's resurrection. According to early Christian tradition, Longinus was arrested for his newfound faith and brutally tortured. Accounts state his teeth were pulled and his tongue cut out, but he miraculously continued to speak clearly. Longinus was later executed by beheading. There are many sacred books that have been omitted from the Bible, one being the Book of Jubilee that talks about giants roaming the earth in the time of Noah. The Book of Genesis says the flood happened because humanity had become wicked, while the omitted text states it was due to 'the Watchers,' or fallen angels, taking human wives and having giant offspring who devoured everything. The Book of Jubilees describes the violence and corruption the giants and their descendants brought, such as cannibalization and sinning, leading to widespread evil on Earth. 'And the Lord destroyed everything from off the face of the earth; because of the wickedness of their deeds, and because of the blood which they had shed in the midst of the earth He destroyed everything,' reads Chapter 10:25. The Book of Jubilee was discovered in caves along the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, about 15 miles east of Jerusalem. While the chapters retell the books of Genesis and Exodus, it was not considered canonical by the Jewish and Christian communities because of supernatural elements and lack of spiritual content and apostolic authorship.
