The Resurrection

Piero della Francesca (c. 1415–1492) — c. 1460s · Fresco · Museo Civico, Sansepolcro

“And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.” — Mark 16:6 (KJV)

About

Piero's Resurrection (about 1460s) is the town emblem of Sansepolcro — 'Holy Sepulchre': Christ steps straight out of the sarcophagus toward us, banner in hand, one foot on the tomb's edge, His face gaunt and unsmiling, while four soldiers sleep in impossible positions below. Aldous Huxley called it the greatest picture in the world.

The Meaning

Of all Renaissance Christs this is the most peasant-solid: no ecstasy, just a wounded man climbing out of death like a labourer out of a ditch. The direct stare crosses five centuries to ask whether you believe it — this is resurrection as fact, not decoration.

For Us Today

Rise with Christ into the day's plain work: if ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above (Colossians 3:1). The guards sleep; the believer is meant to be the awake one in this picture.

Image: Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons — the file’s page. Tap the picture to open the full-size original there.