Gospel in Art: The greatest commandment is to love

Love and the Maiden, by John Roddam Spencer-Stanhope © Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 8 March 2024
Mark 12:28-34

One of the scribes came up to Jesus and put a question to him, 'Which is the first of all the commandments?' Jesus replied, 'This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You must love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.' The scribe said to him, 'Well spoken, Master; what you have said is true: that he is one and there is no other. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself, this is far more important than any holocaust or sacrifice.' Jesus, seeing how wisely he had spoken, said, 'You are not far from the kingdom of God.' And after that no one dared to question him any more.

Reflection on the painting

Learning to recognize the good in the other is part of the meaning of what Jesus calls the second commandment. 'Love your neighbour as yourself'. The way that commandment is expressed suggests very strongly that we can only recognise the good in others if we have first recognised the good in ourselves. The very first chapter of the entire Bible is a poetic description of God's creation of the world. One of the refrains that run through that chapter is 'God saw that it was good'. God's creation is essentially good, and that is especially true of the pinnacle of God's creative work, the human person. That is what love is: to will the good of the other and to recognise the good in the other.

Our painting depicts love, but a different, more narrow love. "Love and the Maiden" by John Roddam Spencer Stanhope is a captivating work from 1877 that embodies the aesthetic and thematic sensibilities of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. The painting depicts a young maiden encircled by joyeous dancing figures in the background, set in an idyllic landscape. The central figure, the maiden, is portrayed with a serene yet contemplative expression, suggesting an innocence or perhaps apprehension about the encroaching figure of Love. She is adorned in a flowing, classical robe that enhances her ethereal and timeless quality.

The winged figure of Love holds his familiar bow in his left hand, while in his right hand he holds a stalk of pink flowers, which he is presenting to the maiden. She looks back at him with a slightly nervous expression. We can read this painting as an allegorical representation of a young woman's first encounter with love.

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's Reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/mark-12-28-34-2024/