Is it right to betray someone if they are going to betray you?

The Kiss of Judas

The Kiss of Judas

The Kiss of Judas, by Giotto di Bondone, was painted from 1304-1306 as a fresco in the Arena Chapel. In this painting, Giotto uses a different painting style in the painting by not painting a three-quarter view of the heads, which was a formula used by Byzantine artists to exclude any personal involvement. Instead, Giotto painted the picture with everyone in profile, thus allowing the viewer to see the emotions that splay across their faces. The center of this picture is Judas giving Jesus a kiss, which is identified as the center by the lines of the weapons in the air, Peter’s knife on the left, and the priest’s finger on the right. On the right of the painting the gesticulating priest is counter-balanced on the left by Peter defending Jesus and cutting off a soldier’s ear. Judas’ cloak seems to be engulfing Jesus as they stare into each other’s eyes and Jesus sees the truth and yet remains calm and stoic as the guards come to arrest him. The mass of soldiers is represented as a powerful force for, although you cannot see the entirety of the soldiers, you can see the representation of sheer numbers by the amount of weapons in the air and number of helmets rushing towards Jesus. By looking at this fresco, one can feel the power and depth of Jesus looking into the eyes of a friend who turned his back on Jesus and the consequences for his actions.[1]

In the 14th Century in Italy, the Renaissance was starting to take off and work its way into Italian culture. Among many of these artists that began incorporating Renaissance ideals into their works, Giotto di Bondone was considered one of the first artists that contributed to the Italian Renaissance. Giotto was commissioned to work in the Arena Chapel by the owner Enrico Scrovegni as a way to atone for his father’s sins as a notorious usurer. Giotto’s paintings were different in style because they did not follow Byzantine style. Instead, Giotto painted three-dimensional figures with faces and gestures that are based on close observation and their clothing has form and weight instead of the usual flowing garments often portrayed in art at the time. Giotto set a new standard for artists to paint up to and, by doing so, opened up the road to new possibilities during the Renaissance period.

Treachery and betrayal are powerful vices that capture people like no other and are portrayed justly in the painting The Kiss of Judas. In the Bible, Judas showed the guards which person was Jesus, the traitor and schismatic, by giving whoever was Jesus a kiss. In this painting, we see Judas giving Jesus a kiss, a sign of love and affection towards others, when in fact it is an act of betrayal for which Judas committed for money given to him by the chief priests.



[1] Sister Wendy Beckett, The Story of Painting. (DK Publishing 1994) 48

Would you betray someone for money?

Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve, by Albrecht Dürer, was painted in 1504 as an engraving for newspapers. Influenced by Italian theory, Dürer became obsessed with the perfect human form, in which he used measurements and proportions to create. Dürer used much symbolism in his paintings. In this particular painting, we see a cat, a rabbit, an ox, and an elk. Each of these four animals represent a different medieval temperament that Adam and Eve unleash upon the earth when they eat the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. The cat symbolizes chloric, the rabbit sanguine, the ox phlegmatic, and the elk melancholic. Also in this painting, we see the fluid and similar motions of Adam and Eve, both having their weight mainly on one foot and their right arms bending upwards and away from their bodies.[1]

During this time that Dürer was creating these engravings in Italy, the Catholic Church was becoming increasingly corrupt and attacked for its corruption by Martin Luther, a German priest and professor of theology. One of Dürer’s famous works, St. Michael Fighting the Dragon, has St. Michael fighting a dragon. Dürer portrays the dragon as the corruption in the Church that is being slayed by St. Michael, who represents Martin Luther who is trying to have the Catholic Church return to its original beliefs by ridding it of indulgences[2]. The Catholic Church was, in a way, betraying God by being greedy and charging people to get into heaven when the Church is supposed to grant people salvation by righteous means, not greed.

Adam and Eve, who were the first humans on the earth that God created, were innocent and pure when they lived in the Garden of Eden. However, when they betrayed God and ate the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, they were punished by being exiled from the Garden of Eden. This betrayal of Adam and Eve led to all humans having Original Sin. With this betrayal of Adam and Eve, all of man-kind suffered due to their curiosity and temptation even when they were told not to eat from the tree by God.



[1]Adam and Eve, 1504 Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471–1528) Engraving, http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/19.73.1

[2] Francis Russell, The world of Dürer: 1471-1528. (New York: Time, Inc., 1967) 107

The Death of Julius Caesar

The Death of Julius Caesar

Painted in 1798 by Vincenzo Camuccini, The Death of Julius Caesar shows Julius Caesar being stabbed to death in the Theatre of Pompey by Roman senators. Camuccini was a Neoclassicist painter that created Julius Caesar based off of a bust of Caesar and is considered to be extremely accurate. In this painting, we see Julius Caesar gesticulating at one of the senators, who could have been his close friend Brutus who had betrayed Caesar and was now killing him[1]. We can also see that the senator on the far left raising his blade to kill Caesar is counter-balanced by a senator on the left with his arms flung in the air in surprise and horror at the assassination occurring before his eyes.

During the 18th and 19th centuries in Europe, the Age of Enlightenment was beginning, a time when people promoted science and reason-based thought. With the Enlightenment occurring in Europe, there was a push for old, Roman ideals to be brought forth in paintings and sculptures that moved away from paintings based solely on religion[2]. The Age of Enlightenment was a time of rebirth for artisans that was similar to the Renaissance period in bringing back the Roman and Greek ideals.



[1] Art.com, Inc. Death of Julius Caesar. http://www.art.com/products/p12063703-sa-i1504199/vincenzo-camuccini-death-of-julius-caesar.htm

[2] Wikipedia. The Age of Enlightenment. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment

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