Pictures in Focus: Seven East European Ex Libris with Holy Week Themes

April 20, 2011

Pictures in Focus: Seven East European Ex Libris with Holy Week Themes

As my final posting for the Lenten Season, I've added seven small format prints with Holy Week themes to the East European Ex Libris page of the Schools of Sacred Art Section. Slovak Artist Leo Bednarik depicts the Last Supper in a somber etching with golden highlights, recalling a Byzantine mosaic. Ukrainian Sergey Kirnitskiy captures the drama of Judas' betrayal in the Garden of Gethsemane in a realistically rendered drypoint and mezzotint print. The Mocking of Christ is the theme of a highly expressive, geometrically-composed, mixed media piece by Lithuanian Printmaker Antanas Kmieliauskas. Bulgarian Artist Peter Velikov presents the Crucifixion as a surrealist event with cosmic implications. The classic Pascal theme of Christ, the Man of Sorrows, is the subject of a book plate by Estonian Evald Okas and an etching in two tinted variations by Czech Grapic Artist Pavel Hlavaty. (John Kohan)