Pensive Christ

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Pensive Christ - in Christian Iconography, it is a conventional depiction of contemplating Jesus, sitting with his head supported by his hand. According to some authors, it is a picture of Jesus moments before crucifixion. Pensive Christ is much more common in sculpture than in painting.

The first known depictions of Pensive Christ appeared in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands at the end of the 14th century. Historians of art link its appearance with a trend known as Devotio Moderna (Latin for "modern devotion"), which stressed the human nature of Jesus, a model for the faithful to follow. The trend diffused to Silesia and Pomerania, and then Poland and Lithuania, where it became strongly entrenched in folk art (e.g., a figurine of Pensive Christ at a road fork). It is still commonly considered fashionable.

[edit] Sources

• Polish Wikipedia

[edit] External links

• Photographs of folk figurines of Pensive Christ in Lithuania (in Lithuanian) http://www.tradicija.lt/Siuzetai/BA_Rupintojeliai_a.en.htm