He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. (Isaiah 53:7, KJV)
The Latin words, "Ecce Homo," in the title of this week's portrait of Christ by New Mexican Artist Michael Vargas--translated as "Behold the Man"--were spoken by the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate when he presented Jesus to an angry crowd, gathered outside the hall of judgment in Jerusalem. Most variations on this theme of Lenten art show the humiliated Jesus in full or half-length in a multi-figured composition but Vargas has chosen to focus our attention on the serene face of the thorn-crowned Christ, presenting him as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. The work of this Hispano saint-maker evokes the penitential art of village moradas of the American Southwest, philanthropic lodges of Roman Catholic laymen, famed for their re-enactment of scenes from the Crucifixion during Holy Week. (John Kohan)