Picasso’s Crucifixion. People who have had near-death experiences, or profound moments of agony and facing mortality, often describe (to me, at least) a surpassing, overwhelming feeling of peace at the moment of most-intense suffering. I see this in Picasso’s depiction; the crucifixion moment is captured in black and white, while bright–violent!–color surrounds it. The whole of the canvas is focused upon that moment in black and white, as the whole of the world’s history is focused upon and oriented toward that same moment. Indeed, that moment is the ultimate moment of time; the moment through which Christians understand all other moments.
In a noisy, violent, chaotic world, one black-and-white moment orients all of creation. How can we live such that our lives reflect this reality?
hope of things not seen 