Being a Coptic Orthodox myself, religious art has always caught my attention. The imagination of some artists of a scenario or an individual is baffling. Seeing an artist bringing an individual from the Bible or from the history books of the Christian Church to reality truly something magnificent. When I first saw this painting, I knew I had to do my paper on it. because I found it stunning. It was on the second floor in the Dr. Mortimer D. and Theresa Sackler Gallery, section 609. Its acquisition number is L.2012.19.2 (Private Collection, New York). The museum label reads as follows: “Mirabello Cavalori was inspired by the great Florentine artists of earlier generations, especially Jacopo Pontormo and Andrea del Sarto. The dazzling use of contrasting colors in the draperies is like del Sarto’s but in a palette that goes beyond him in its audacity. The scene depicts the miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha. The…show more content… If you read the story in the bible, the only people present are the relatives of Lazarus, Mary and Martha and Jesus. The enigma in this picture is that I can’t tell who is who. The enigma is due the fact that the story does not match the story in John 11. According to the chapter from John, Lazarus had been in the tomb for three days. Jesus went with the relatives of Lazarus, Mary and Martha. Jesus commanded that they move the stone away and Martha responds that it will make an odor. This shows just how long he had been dead for. However, as Jesus called Lazarus’ name, he arose and came forth from the tomb. That is why it is called The Raising of Lazarus. However, even then it is difficult to be sure that this is the Lazarus of John: 11. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly where the tomb is that he came out of. The story is not easy to follow and it creates a sense of
