Title of Artwork: “The Virgin Spanking the Christ Child before Three Witnesses”
Artwork by Max Ernst
Year Created 1926
Summary of The Virgin Spanking the Christ Child before Three Witnesses
On a Madonna and her infant in 1926, Ernst depicted a bizarre but amusing scene in which a 5-year-old Jesus, naked and red from the punishment, is spanked for his unruly behaviour. Three eyewitnesses, André Breton, Paul Éluard, and the painter, all witnessed the Virgin slapping Christ’s bottom.
All About The Virgin Spanking the Christ Child before Three Witnesses
Artwork depicting Jesus as an ordinary child caused quite a stir when it was first created. It was considered blasphemous. Nor did he ever do anything wrong. Although the child is chastised in Ernst’s vision for his deeds, he also loses his halo and is depicted as a normal infant.
Sturdy lines elucidate Mary’s domineering presence, as she holds the boy motionless with one hand raised menacingly above her head. It’s hard not to notice the striking contrast between her red dress and the blue shawl that she’s wearing to cover her legs in.
We can see the heads of Ernst and two of his friends, the Surrealist poets André Breton and Paul Éluard, through a small window on the left. As a backdrop, they remind us of the surrealist irreverence that takes nothing too seriously.
Witnesses to the scene, a group of Surrealists, appear to be enjoying the display of pain and desecration of a religious symbol because of their voyeurism.
Information Citations
En.wikipedia.org, https://en.wikipedia.org/.
