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Spirit Day: Jesus & Rothko in Purple

What do a figure of Christ as divine judge and a painting by Mark Rothko have in common? The color purple. In support of Spirit Day and the Human Rights Campaign (@HRC), today's entry takes the form of a meditation on the color purple and some thoughts about bullying directed towards the LBGTQ community. Enjoy.

Left: Christ Pantokratore, late 11th century, mosaic. Church of the Dormition, Daphni Monastery, Attica, Greece; Right: Mark Rothko, Untitled (Part of the Seagram Murals), 1959, oil on canvas. The Tate Modern, London

The mosaic-icon from the Church of the Dormition is guaranteed to be covered in general art history surveys. Christ is identified by the abbreviated Greek Christogram ICXC which stands for ΙΗΣΟΥΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ, or Jesus Christ. He peers down from a massive dome as divine judge, a reminder of the last judgment. He wears a purple robe, which since the ancient world was a color reserved for royalty and in the case of Byzantium, for the emperor. As I think about Spirit Day and bullying towards LBGTQ youth, some of which stems from religious prejudice and hate, I offer what I consider to be the most profound and powerful motto to keep in mind: Jesus loves you, even when Christians don't.

Mark Rothko is one of my favorite painters, not for any academic reason but on a purely emotional level (and I think he would be ok with that). No matter where I see a Rothko painting — be it in a museum or as wall decor in various scenes in The Adjustment Bureau — I am always moved to a state of contemplation, with both uplifting and dramatic thoughts. My good friend Rheagan is a budding Rothko scholar, and he kindly sent me some ideas about Rothko's use of color. Evidently Rothko was not interested in color, just in the emotions it conveyed. In general, his colors begin bright and over time become rather dark, but with a sudden burst of color at the end of his life veiled in a milky white (thanks Rheagan for all of that!).

Juxtaposed with the Daphni Christ mosaic is one of the Seagram Murals, commissioned for the Four Seasons Restaurant in New York but which Rothko refused (ultimately creating thirty canvases). The murals reflect Rothko's approach to color field painting, with solid bands of color simultaneously fused but clearly separated, creating a rhythmic visual experience. He used a palette of reds, maroons, and various shades of purple in the many canvases. I find the mural above poignant for Spirit Day because when turned on its side, it becomes the logo for the Human Rights Campaign, an organization dedicated to advocating for equal rights for the LBGTQ community. [Be sure to see the Seagram Murals @Tate in London]

So there you have it, WTF Art History supports Spirit Day and the HRC. Reblog or share with your friends if you support Spirit Day!