White Crucifixion [SEP] creator
White Crucifixion
The White Crucifixion is a painting by Marc Chagall depicting the Crucifixion of Jesus. It was painted in 1938 after Chagall had visited Europe, and can be viewed at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Description.
The painting emphasizes the suffering of Jesus and the Jewish people. At the sides violent acts against Jews occur such as the burning of a synagogue and invaders. And in the center, Jesus is shown crucified wearing a prayer shawl as a symbol that he is Jewish. The work is startling as
is at its core monotheistic and relies on a god as a creator, while Buddhism is generally non-theistic and rejects the notion of a Creator God which provides divine values for the world.
The central iconic imagery of the two traditions underscore the difference in their belief structure, when the peaceful death of Gautama Buddha at an old age is contrasted with the harsh image of the crucifixion of Jesus as a willing sacrifice for the atonement for the sins of humanity. Buddhist scholars such as Masao Abe see the centrality of crucifixion