Andrew D'Agostino
Professor Castro
Latin Art History – Final Paper
September 22, 2015
Christ the Physician (Miracula Christi) Originally crafted by the German Hendrik Goltzius in the late 16th Century, the painting of Christ the Physician does not fall short of a legendary scene still glorified to this very day. In approximately the late 17th Century, this particular painting was painted once more by an Andean painter. This 65 ½ inch by 43 ½ inch painting of Jesus Christ holding a heart vial, casting out the sins of others, was a prominent reflection piece for Christians during this time period. To the naked eye, undoubtedly the painting is visually appealing but there is much more to explore about Hendrik’s creation. First, the audience viewing the painting recreated by the Andean painter should first be aware of some information with regards to the original painting. Coming from a story in the New Testament, the original painting includes a drawn on frame. On this frame Hendrik tells this story found in the New Testament in Latin text. Contrary to the original, the Andean painter cropped the painting to only include the scene of Jesus Christ casting out sins from a heart vial. Hendrik Goltzius claimed fame back in the late sixteenth century with his infamous ability to engrave. What took Hendrik over the top was his ability to paint as well as he could engrave. In combining his ability to engrave into his paintings he created pieces of work that typically could not reproduced by others of this era. Ironically enough, Hendrik actually had a malformed right hand due to a fire when he was a baby. Luckily, this malformation strengthened the muscles necessary to be a strong painter and allowed him to turn a negative into a definite positive. Starting in the early Middle Ages, the Passion of Jesus was the popular subject found within art and literature. The suffering and crucifixion of Jesus Christ for the redemption of humankind was such a crucial event that it was necessary to depict it. Because theology had both Jesus and Mary ascend bodily into heaven, no physical relics could be made for either. Therefore, in the 15th Century a number of shrines were created that claimed to have either the blood of Jesus or the milk of Mary contained within. As time passed, by the 17th Century once again the art and literature had changes. During this time there was constant arguments and debates as to how to truly live a Christian life. There was a new religious interest in the inner man. As a result, the “homo interior” was established, a movement from external dogma to inner piety, from head to heart. This very idea spurred the creation of many pieces of art including the Miracula Christi (Christ the Physician). This engraving made my Hendrik was an illustration from the Schola Cordis (Dissertation on the Heart), a book written by a monk named Benedictus van Haeften in 1629. This book which located the interaction between divine love and human action in the heart was popular in Lutheran countries.
Having now gained some insight about the original painting, the audience can now explore the symbolism and unique characteristics present. The main focus of the picture which most represents the meaning of the painting is the heart vial being held by Jesus Christ. In this particular vial, the audience can first identify a pig signifying gluttony. Another creature in the vial is the snake which is incorporated to represent envy. The third and final creature evident is the horse, suggesting pride. All of these creatures are used to represent the deadly sins that sinners tend to disobey. Although in the Andean painting the vial appears to be directly upright, in the original created by Hendrik shows Jesus Christ tipping the vial. The tipping of the vial clearly displays the forgiveness granted by Jesus. By tipping the vial, Jesus is abolishing the deadly sins committed by His people. There is more symbolism found in the original painting which Hendrik includes a basket. Within this basket the audience finds the virtues, the opposition of what is found in the heart vial. The first organism found in the basket is a baby in order to show good intentions. Another creature present is a lamb which is used to demonstrate the virtue of patience. The final creature is the common symbol of a dove, clearly signifying simplicity. Jesus Christ having this basket filled with virtues suggests that after pouring out the deadly sins in the vial He intends to refill it with virtues. The love evident by Jesus Christ easily helps the audience understand why this painting was commonly viewed upon by the members of Christianity. The main focus of the painting undoubtedly is to portray Jesus Christ’s replenishing of sinners sin-filled hearts with love-filled virtues. However, the heart vial and its belongings as well the basket and its belongings are not the only symbols incorporated into this painting. In the Andean painting the woman knelt down before Jesus is gasping a crucifix. In knowing that the crucifix shows Jesus dying on the cross for everyone’s sins, the audience could certainly question the appearance of Jesus in the painting. Did the Andean painter want to portray Jesus Christ coming back after already being crucified to prove His word to come back and save His people? The interpretation will presumably be different between each person viewing this painting. Surely the symbol of the staff which is used to show power helps further the audience’s understanding of Jesus Christ and His ability to save. Having discussed the various symbols and their importance in both the original and Andean painting, the audience should also pay notice to the shading and brightness exemplified in the paintings. In the Andean painting, the male and female sinners in the bottom left corner both appear to be in the shadiest part of the painting. The Andean painter placed them in the shade to suggest their flaws. Commonly associated with sin and evil, dark colors and lighting signify the absence of purity and living as a child of God. Contrary to this dim lighting, directly above Jesus Christ’s head marks the brightest part of the painting. Easy to suggest, this brightness signifies the purity and love embodied by Jesus. Appealing to the audience, there appears to be a sliver of light being cast down upon the two sinners. The passing of brightness from Jesus to the sinners again displays Jesus passing on his love and forgiveness to His people. When focusing specifically on each individual in the Andean painting, the clothing itself provides helpful insight as to the message being described in this painting. First and foremost, upon first glace of Jesus Christ the audience recognizes the long red cloth he is wearing. The color red tends to signify power, strength, passion and love. Given the meaning of the color red alone, it is easy to understand why Hendrik dressed Jesus in red. Another aspect to Jesus’ cloth is found within the simplicity of it. When the audience looks at Jesus in a cloth draped over his body similar to the cloth of the sinners by his feet, it shows equality. Just the simple cloth alone allows Jesus to appear modest and approachable, both characteristics one would hope to find in their leader. The final characteristic painted in by the Andean painter can be found in the background. The audience can see what appears to be a very pleasant day with the sun shining through a partly cloudy sky. This seems like such a simple and common background, but this also adds value to the painting. As an overall whole, when Christians view this picture a sense of happiness should fill their hearts. Jesus Christ is literally vanishing the deadly sins present within each individual in order to replace them with virtues. Essentially, Jesus is saving His people as He promised He would! The shining sun is meant to remind viewers of the warmth to be felt when witnessing the love shared by Jesus to His people. Often times in art and literature, when a powerful or unique painting or writing is created, it tends to be recreated by others along the way. It is not uncommon to find hybridism among paintings in different regions of the world. In this case, an Andean painter recreated the work of a Dutch piece created by a German with a malformed right hand. Each artist typically creates their own spin or twist to the painting in order to create some kind of uniqueness that is their own. Because of this, it is important to consider the history of when the original painting was created and why the artist included the characteristics they did. More often than not, there are characteristics prominent to the painting that are not readily identified by the naked eye upon first glance. The painting of Miracula Christi (Christ the Physician) confirms this idea and leaves the audience with a message that warms their hearts when thinking about Jesus Christ and His wants for us.

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