Introduction to Jesus | Unlocking Christian Art

Film

A film in a series about Christianity’s central figure: Jesus Christ. This film discusses how Jesus is represented in works of art, from simplified or abstract symbols to complex narratives. It identifies key episodes of Jesus’s life and considers what these events meant and continue to mean for Christians as well as what they might mean for those of different faiths or none who see them in art galleries today. Presented by VCS Director Professor Ben Quash and Deputy Director Dr Jennifer Sliwka.

Artworks: The Bode-Museum Basilica; Antonio Begarelli, Crucifixion with Angels, 16th century, both in the Bode-Museum; and Unknown artist from Cologne, Life of Christ, c.1410/20 in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin.

Produced in partnership with the Visual Commentary on Scripture, King’s College London and the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, these short films tell the story of Jesus with the help of the treasures of the Bode-Museum and the Gemäldegalerie, both sculpture and painting. These films are designed to equip users to understand, read, and enjoy some of Europe’s greatest works of Christian art, as well as the texts that inspired them, and to encourage fresh interpretation and insight in today’s audiences.