Sign up to The Irish Times Archive (1859 - 2008)My Account »

Fri 04 Apr 2007The art of Good FridayThe drama of the Crucifixion has been a recurring theme for artists and composers for centuries, writes Eileen BattersbyEmaciated and stained with his blood and sweat, a man hangs from a wooden cross. Nails have been driven through his hands. A crown of thorns has been forced onto his head. His flesh is livid. He is dying, or perhaps he is already dead. At his feet, a weeping woman laments. It is his mother. Their agony is one of the most dramatic episodes in human history; it is, according to Christian ritual, atonement for the sins of mankind.