Thethorn

BURLINI
S T U D I O

The Thorn

60" X 48"

Oil on Canvas

The passion, crucifixion, and transformation
of Jesus. His embodiment within the wood
of the cross, the transformation of his body
into the church. The dominant focus on the
metaphor of the thorn (or the nail) driven
into the flesh and bone. Even the cross
shows the curve and point of the thorn. A
background of storm emphasizes the blood
red of the figure's garment (the only color
other than that of the sky). The stream of
thorns, like drops of blood and fragments of
bone, depicts the face of the crucified, even
the pierced flesh, and the kneeling,
sorrowing mother. The figure moves
dramatically in a curve toward heaven and a
second, embracing image of Mary. Nails
pounded into the plane on the left side of the
picture suggest the soldiers and others who
followed Jesus as he carried his cross. The
earlier version depicts the crowd in
procession.