Christ standing facing forward, holding a cross with a banner and raising his left hand 1510 - 1532

Marco Dente’s engraving presents Christ, holding a cross and banner, his hand raised in blessing. The cross, an unmistakable symbol of sacrifice, appears here as a triumphant standard, the banner suggesting victory over death. Consider the raised hand, a gesture resonating through millennia. In ancient Rome, it signified power and authority; think of emperors addressing their legions. Yet, its echo can be found in earlier Egyptian art, where deities extend their hands in a similar fashion to bestow favor. This motif isn't merely representational, it is a potent carrier of cultural memory. The halo, a radiant burst of light, visually denotes divinity. This symbol, though prominent in Christian iconography, also echoes the solar disks of ancient Egyptian and Greek gods. The collective subconscious seems to continually reach for light as a signifier of the divine. It is through this non-linear, cyclical progression that symbols resurface, evolve, and take on new meanings. Dente’s Christ is not simply a religious icon, but also a vessel carrying the weight of shared human experience.