Resurrection of Christ in art

On this Easter Sunday program, Lynn Poole and art professor Adolf Katzenellenbogen discuss Christ's resurrection and its depiction in early art. Dr. Katzenellenbogen notes that the event is generally presented in three ways: symbolically, indirectly, and directly. He and Mr. Poole analyze the elements of a symbolic stone relief. The indirect depiction shows the three holy women visiting the spice merchant and/or the sepulcher. Actors perform a typical Easter drama of this event, and Dr. Katzenellenbogen compares a painting, fresco, and woodcut of the similar scene. Christ rising from the tomb is the direct portrayal of the resurrection. Dr. Katzenellenbogen discusses a series of paintings, by artists Piero della Francesca, Giovanni Bellini, and Matthias Grunewald, in historical sequence, indicating how the landscape in the scenes becomes progressively more real and the light and darkness more contrasted. Paul Hindeman's Grunewald-inspired music closes the program.