In the same city where, last month, a group of Christian missionaries was attacked while distributing Bibles and chocolates ahead of Christmas day lived an artist who espoused syncretism in life and art. A Muslim man who was born on a Hindu festival and sketched the one with whom began Christianity.
And here’s the thing — if everything had gone as planned, the 12 paintings on Jesus Christ, which are now being displayed at the Bangalore International Centre, would have been first seen at the Vatican City. But this series was the happy result started by one painting which the late artist Yusuf Arakkal painted in one day and over the night at the turn of the millennium, revealing a mega-sized diptych which he called The Millennium Christ: The Crucifixion and Resurrection. “This is the labour of love by a Muslim artist who was born on his favourite festival — Janmashtami,” he had said when he showed me the painting at his studio. According to his wife, Sara Arakkal, it was a meaningful gift by the artist to the art world and art lovers on the very first day of the millennium.
The diptych had the power to take away the breath even when it was propped against the wall of his spacious studio. Once the series was done, Arakkal found it fitting to mention it to the concerned Vatican authority which sent a delegation from Rome to his studio in 2013. The paintings were much appreciated but the artist’s dream to showcase the works that, at least to him, showcased multi-faith, was not realised because the policy of the Vatican at the time was not to exhibit the works of living artists.
Even though, until now, the series was never shown in its entirety, there were occasional glimpses of one or two paintings at the annual shows by Galerie Sara Arakkal run by Sara Arakkal. There were rave reviews about the works and, more importantly, some decoded the series for what it was. Art critic P Surendran, who has followed Arakkal’s works closely, wrote: "Though masters of all the major periods and schools had portrayed the image of Jesus in its various hues and splendour, Arakkal, who was an ‘outsider’ as far as all schools of art in India are concerned, wanted his painting to be different from all those compositions, with a unique identity. That was the reason why he started doing further research, which ultimately led him to the references about the Afro-Asian origin of Christ. Thus, Arakkal decided to portray Jesus with those features, departing from the classical image that we are accustomed to through the works of the masters. Thus, was born the Millennium Christ, with the Afro-Asian features and a face turned away from the viewer; an 8ft x 8ft diptych.”
It's a fact that Arakkal portrayed Christ in an unusual manner in Crucifixion and Resurrection, wherein Christ’s face is turned away from the viewer and the cross itself is not visible. There are no nails visible on the body and nor is the crown of thorns seen. Arakkal had specifically mentioned that it was for the viewer to decide if the work is about crucifixion or resurrection. After the first painting, he had travelled to Israel which triggered in him the inspiration to do a series on Jesus Christ. By then, his approach had changed significantly, wherein he followed the conventional facial features as used by the masters. Still, the style was unique. In Last Supper, the artist has portrayed Christ and the disciples as the reflections of the same image. “In most of the paintings by masters, the disciples are shown in a conflicting mood during the last supper. Maybe true, realistically. Here I am trying to depict them as becoming part of Christ during his sermon before the supper, as they are imbibing the spiritual quality of the leader and becoming one with him,” Arakkal said after completing the series, as quoted by Surendran.
The 12 paintings on display depict the major events in Christ’s life. They are: the baptism of Jesus, Jesus walking on the sea, Jesus as the bread of life, Last Supper, Dance of Jesus, Jesus in Gethsemane, Jesus concluding prayer in Gethsemane and Jesus on the Cross. And even though, these paintings are shown in Bengaluru first, Sara Arakkal has made efforts in reaching out to the Vatican authority once again so that Arakkal’s dream can come true. Will it? The artist is dead and his works can help getting his dream fulfilled.
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