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Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, a foundational event in Christian faith, symbolizing victory over sin and death. Observed on the Sunday following Good Friday, which commemorates Jesus’ crucifixion, Easter marks the culmination of Holy Week and the end of Lent, a season of fasting and reflection. For Christians, Easter affirms the promise of eternal life and the transformative power of God’s love and grace. It is both a solemn remembrance and a joyful celebration, often accompanied by church services, music, and gatherings that honor Christ’s sacrifice and triumph, offering hope and renewal to believers. Below, the crucifixion of Christ, his death, and resurrection are portrayed by three artists.  Crucifixion. I intentionally included the Grünenwald altarpiece above because art historians know it is one of the few depictions of the Crucifixion that expresses the true pain and brutality of torture. It is not romanticized. The Grünewald Altarpiece, also known as the Isenheim Altarpiece, is a monumental polyptych painted by Matthias Grünewald between 1512 and 1516 for the Monastery of St. Anthony in Isenheim. Renowned for its intense emotional power and vivid imagery, it was designed to comfort patients suffering from skin diseases like ergotism. The Crucifixion scene, with Christ’s contorted body, graphically conveys pain and redemption, while inner panels reveal scenes of the Resurrection and healing saints. Combining Gothic spirituality with early Renaissance detail, the altarpiece stands as one of the most hauntingly beautiful religious artworks of the Northern Renaissance.  The death of Christ. Michelangelo’s La Pietà, sculpted in 1498–1499, is a Renaissance masterpiece housed in St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City. I would have to admit it moved me in a very deep way when I saw it live. Carved from a single block of Carrara marble, it depicts the Virgin Mary cradling the lifeless body of Jesus after the Crucifixion. Remarkable for its emotional depth, the sculpture captures both sorrow and serenity. Mary’s youthful face and the flowing drapery contrast with Christ’s lifeless form, creating a powerful expression of grief and divine grace. La Pietà was Michelangelo’s first major commission and remains the only work he ever signed, showcasing his extraordinary skill and spiritual sensitivity.  The Resurrection, Easter. Affirming the promise of eternal life and the transformative power of God’s love and grace. It is both a solemn remembrance and a joyful celebration, often accompanied by church services, music, and gatherings that honor Christ’s sacrifice and triumph, offering hope and renewal to believers.
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  John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings.
Sargent’s portrait painting technique was characterized by bold, confident brushwork and a mastery of light and texture. He painted alla prima, applying wet paint onto wet, which allowed for fluid transitions and a luminous quality. His brushstrokes were both precise and expressive, capturing intricate details with seemingly effortless gestures. Sargent often began with loose underpaintings before refining forms with carefully placed highlights and shadows. He emphasized composition and atmosphere, using dynamic poses and rich tonal contrasts. His ability to render fabric, skin, and light with remarkable realism made him one of the most celebrated portraitists of his time.  I have been talking with some of my students about surrealism lately. As an artistic style, it ranges from the quirky and peculiar to the outright ghoulish and horrifying. The original idea of surrealism was that it supposedly depicted what dreams look like. René Magritte is one of my favorite original surrealists. He was born in Belgium and was known for his thought-provoking and enigmatic works. He juxtaposed ordinary objects in unexpected ways and challenged perceptions of reality and representation. Iconic works like The Son of Man (depicting a man in a bowler hat with his face obscured by an apple) explore themes of identity, illusion, and meaning. His precise, illustrative style and playful manipulation of context created visual puzzles that engage viewers intellectually and emotionally. If you ever hit a plateau with you current painting style, consider painting a whimsical surrealist painting for a change of pace. 
The sfumato painting technique, famously used by Leonardo da Vinci, involves blending colors and tones seamlessly to create soft transitions without harsh lines or edges. Derived from the Italian word sfumare, meaning "to evaporate" or "to fade," this method gives paintings a smoky, atmospheric quality. Sfumato is particularly effective for rendering realistic skin tones, subtle lighting effects, and a sense of depth. Artists achieve this effect by layering thin glazes of paint, carefully controlling the transitions between light and shadow. One of the most renowned examples is da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, where sfumato contributes to her enigmatic expression and lifelike presence.
Here is a close up of Mona Lisa's eyes. Notice that there are no sharp, hard edges. (The cracking was caused by the use of linseed oil) 
In the painting below, notice there are no hard edges: 
 Hilma af Klint (1862-1944) was a pioneering Swedish artist and mystic, recognized as a forerunner of abstract art.
She hid her artwork for 20 years because she thought the world was not ready for her vision. When her work was finally exhibited after her death, the art world discovered that she had been exploring abstract concepts in art long before her famous male counterparts. I enjoy these kinds of disruptions. (Check out the scale of her paintings at the Guggenheim Museum) Her works were expired by spiritualism, Theosophy, Anthroposophy (a blend of spirituality, science, architecture, and art), and her own mystical experiences. Klint's abstract paintings, characterized by bold colors, geometric shapes, and esoteric symbolism, were largely unknown during her lifetime and remained hidden for years. Her unique artistic vision and innovative approach have gained significant recognition posthumously, positioning her as a groundbreaking figure in modern art history who challenged traditional artistic norms and opened new pathways for abstract expression. The history of art throughout the world is vast. And the summary here of Western art history is a good starting point. This Link will take you to a very convenient chronological chart of western art history. And below are styles being explored by painters in my studio.  In my painting program... most painters are exploring Contemporary Realism, Impressionism, Tonalism, Luminism, and Surrealism. Here are samples of each from art history: Contemporary Realism The contemporary realism movement is a worldwide style of painting which came into existence in the 1960s and early 1970s. Featuring a straightforward approach to representation practiced by artists such as Philip Pearlstein, Alex Katz, Jack Beal and Neil Welliver. The movement refers to figurative art works created in a natural yet highly objective style. Today the term Contemporary Realism encompasses all post-1970 sculptors and painters whose discipline is representational art, where the object is to portray the "real" and not the “ideal". More about Contemporary Realism About Photorealism  By Richard Estes Historical Origin of Realism The Realist movement began in the mid-19th century as a reaction to Romanticism and History painting. In favor of depictions of 'real' life, the Realist painters used common laborers, and ordinary people in ordinary surroundings engaged in real activities as subjects for their works. More about Realism  The Gleaners is an oil painting by Jean-François Millet completed in 1857. Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time), ordinary subject matter, unusual visual angles, and inclusion of movement as a crucial element of human perception and experience. Impressionism originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s. More about Impressionism  Impression, Sunrise is an 1872 painting by Claude Monet Tonalism Tonalism was an artistic style that emerged in the 1880s when American artists began to paint landscape forms with an overall tone of colored atmosphere or mist. Between 1880 and 1915, dark, neutral hues such as gray, brown or blue, often dominated compositions by artists associated with the style. During the late 1890s, American art critics began to use the term "tonal" to describe these works, as well as the lesser-known Two of the leading associated painters were George Inness and James McNeill Whistler. Overview of Tonalism  "Georgia Sunset" by George Inness Luminism Luminism is an American landscape painting style of the 1850s to 1870s, characterized by effects of light in landscape, through the use of aerial perspective and the concealment of visible brushstrokes. Luminism landscapes emphasize tranquility, and often depict calm, reflective water and a soft, hazy sky. Artists who were most central to the development of the luminist style include Fitz Hugh Lane, Martin Johnson Heade, Sanford Gifford, and John F. Kensett. More about Luminism  "Bend on the Juniata River" by Sanford Gifford Surrealism Surrealism aims to revolutionise human experience. It balances a rational vision of life with one that asserts the power of the unconscious and dreams. The movement's artists find magic and strange beauty in the unexpected and the uncanny, the disregarded and the unconventional. More about Surrealism  "The Persistence of Memory" 1931 Salvador Dali
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Patrick Howe, Artist, Author and Educator Seattle, WA. Contact: [email protected] |
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