I was really excited when I saw this piece in class. I remember when I was younger being told the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego but I had never seen a portrait of it. I like how the artist depicted the fire, it's not too obtrusive but gets the point across that these men were standing in a furnace. I would assume that the figure about the men's heads could be either the Lord protecting the men, or some sort of evil creature there to tempt the men into proclaiming that God could not help them in this situation. I think it's a very interesting piece and I'm glad I was able to see it in class.
Raising Of Lazarus. N.d. Photograph. Catacomb Of The Via Latina, Rome. Saints And Relics In Medieval Art. Oberlin.org. Web. 5 Dec. 2012.
The story of Lazarus has always been a favorite of my grandmother and I, so when I saw this piece I was immediately drawn to it. If you're not familiar with the story the gist of it is, Jesus was called upon by Lazarus's family. The man had been dead for 7 days but upon Jesus's request Lazarus walked out of his tomb alive. My grandmother would tell this story to us in Sunday school and seeing this paining makes me miss her so much. I like the spectators behind Jesus. The artist painted whole images of people in the front, and then just the people's heads behind the first images to give the illusion that many people were there to witness the miracle.
Another interesting thing about the painting is the image of Lazarus. There are no human features to the man. If I recall the story correctly, he was wrapped up the cloth which was customary at the time. It shows that Lazarus was truly dead when Jesus called upon him, and before he could get the funerary clothes off he was walking toward Jesus's voice. I think this is a very interesting painting and is a testament to Jesus and the miracles he is said to have performed while on Earth.
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