Christ's Entry into Brussels in 1889 in color makes the painting look like a jubilant celebration of life. Ensor gave the people different skin tones (peach, white, black, and yellow) and hair colors to emphasize the uniqueness and individuality of each person. It seems as if all the people of the world are united in this one celebration. What is interesting is that the person in the front, leading the crowd, is wearing the attire of a Catholic priest or pope. This can be because Belgium's main religion is Catholicism. In addition, the priest is holding a staff-like object without the usual cross symbol, representing the secular world. By having Christ follow behind the crowd and the priest lead the people, Ensor seems to want to relay the people's digression from God and their dependence on man as a mediator. This makes sense, since in Catholicism, people confess their sins to the priest and usually do not have a direct, intimate relationship with God. Unlike Christ's entry into Jerusalem, where people spread their cloaks and branches on the road and praised God in loud voices, these Belgians left Jesus behind and each have their focus somewhere else. The rows of soldiers "escorting" Jesus resemble a marching band leading in a float in the Rose Parade. Consumed by themselves and the distractions of the world, the people have reduced God to a symbol or object to be superficially admired.
“The Playboy of the Western World” relates to this painting in many ways. The painting is an illustration of Palm Sunday, when Jesus enters Jerusalem days before his crucifixion. A similar scene is found in the play after Christy wins the sporting events. e The townspeople surround him and celebrates his triumph. This resembles the painting where everyone is standing around observing the entrance of Jesus Christ. Like Jesus, Christy was worshiped by the townspeople for his triumphant victory. Both Jesus and Christy were perceived as the town hero. This represents how Christy’s character is Christ-like. Even his name symbolizes his connection to Christ. There is a direct correlation between Palm Sunday and “The Playboy of the Western World,” which is underlined by the symbolic relation of Christy to Jesus Christ.
The first thing I notice about seeing this painting in color is the use of mainly bright primary colors - yellow, blue, and especially red and green. These colors add to the rather cartoon-like sense of the painting, in addition to the undefined facial features of the majority of the crowd. There is also the sense of chaos that is created by vibrant color splashes. The color also completely fills up the canvas. It becomes clear that this scene is meant to take up the entire picture - we can't see the sky or ground. Lastly, the color serves as a method of separating the group surrounding Christ from the crowd in front. The area around Christ is paler, with less color. However, the small splash of color within that party prevents the white around Christ to be striking.
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Christ's Entry into Brussels in 1889 in color makes the painting look like a jubilant celebration of life. Ensor gave the people different skin tones (peach, white, black, and yellow) and hair colors to emphasize the uniqueness and individuality of each person. It seems as if all the people of the world are united in this one celebration. What is interesting is that the person in the front, leading the crowd, is wearing the attire of a Catholic priest or pope. This can be because Belgium's main religion is Catholicism. In addition, the priest is holding a staff-like object without the usual cross symbol, representing the secular world. By having Christ follow behind the crowd and the priest lead the people, Ensor seems to want to relay the people's digression from God and their dependence on man as a mediator. This makes sense, since in Catholicism, people confess their sins to the priest and usually do not have a direct, intimate relationship with God. Unlike Christ's entry into Jerusalem, where people spread their cloaks and branches on the road and praised God in loud voices, these Belgians left Jesus behind and each have their focus somewhere else. The rows of soldiers "escorting" Jesus resemble a marching band leading in a float in the Rose Parade. Consumed by themselves and the distractions of the world, the people have reduced God to a symbol or object to be superficially admired.
-Stephanie Cho
“The Playboy of the Western World” relates to this painting in many ways. The painting is an illustration of Palm Sunday, when Jesus enters Jerusalem days before his crucifixion. A similar scene is found in the play after Christy wins the sporting events. e The townspeople surround him and celebrates his triumph. This resembles the painting where everyone is standing around observing the entrance of Jesus Christ. Like Jesus, Christy was worshiped by the townspeople for his triumphant victory. Both Jesus and Christy were perceived as the town hero. This represents how Christy’s character is Christ-like. Even his name symbolizes his connection to Christ. There is a direct correlation between Palm Sunday and “The Playboy of the Western World,” which is underlined by the symbolic relation of Christy to Jesus Christ.
-Shantae McKinney
The first thing I notice about seeing this painting in color is the use of mainly bright primary colors - yellow, blue, and especially red and green. These colors add to the rather cartoon-like sense of the painting, in addition to the undefined facial features of the majority of the crowd. There is also the sense of chaos that is created by vibrant color splashes.
The color also completely fills up the canvas. It becomes clear that this scene is meant to take up the entire picture - we can't see the sky or ground.
Lastly, the color serves as a method of separating the group surrounding Christ from the crowd in front. The area around Christ is paler, with less color. However, the small splash of color within that party prevents the white around Christ to be striking.
- Marissa Rousseau
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