Our Foreign Staff
Mon, 29 January 2024
The image was scorned on social media for being 'effeminate'
- ALVARO LEFLET/AFP
A poster of Jesus to promote Easter week in Seville has drawn a backlash from Spanish ultra-conservatives, who denounced it as “effeminate” and “offensive” to Roman Catholics.
Designed by Seville artist Salustiano Garcia, the image shows Jesus after his resurrection, standing semi-naked in front of a blood-red background, with the lower part of his body covered by a white cloth.
It shows “the radiant side of Holy Week” in the “purest style of this prestigious painter”, said the Council of Brotherhoods and Guilds, which organises the main Easter week events in the Andalusian city.
In a social media backlash, however, many denounced the poster as “sexualised”.
“It’s absolutely shameful and an aberration,” wrote the ultra-conservative Catholic IPSE, which fosters “respect for Christian symbols” and is active in opposing abortion.
‘Not in the spirit of Holy Week’
The image portrayed Jesus as “effeminate” and “camp”, it said, demanding a public apology from the artist for a poster that was not in the spirit of Holy Week.
Javier Navarro of the far-Right Vox party, joined the chorus of disapproval, saying the poster “sought to provoke” and did not advance the aim of “encouraging the faithful to participate in Holy Week in Seville” in remarks on X, formerly Twitter.
Garcia told the Right-wing ABC newspaper that his portrayal of Jesus, which was based on an image of his son, was “gentle, elegant and beautiful” and created with “deep respect”.
A poster of Jesus to promote Easter week in Seville has drawn a backlash from Spanish ultra-conservatives, who denounced it as “effeminate” and “offensive” to Roman Catholics.
Designed by Seville artist Salustiano Garcia, the image shows Jesus after his resurrection, standing semi-naked in front of a blood-red background, with the lower part of his body covered by a white cloth.
It shows “the radiant side of Holy Week” in the “purest style of this prestigious painter”, said the Council of Brotherhoods and Guilds, which organises the main Easter week events in the Andalusian city.
In a social media backlash, however, many denounced the poster as “sexualised”.
“It’s absolutely shameful and an aberration,” wrote the ultra-conservative Catholic IPSE, which fosters “respect for Christian symbols” and is active in opposing abortion.
‘Not in the spirit of Holy Week’
The image portrayed Jesus as “effeminate” and “camp”, it said, demanding a public apology from the artist for a poster that was not in the spirit of Holy Week.
Javier Navarro of the far-Right Vox party, joined the chorus of disapproval, saying the poster “sought to provoke” and did not advance the aim of “encouraging the faithful to participate in Holy Week in Seville” in remarks on X, formerly Twitter.
Garcia told the Right-wing ABC newspaper that his portrayal of Jesus, which was based on an image of his son, was “gentle, elegant and beautiful” and created with “deep respect”.
Spanish artist Salustiano Garcia poses for a photograph next to his painting - CRISTINA QUICLER
“To see sexuality in my image of Christ, you must be mad,” he said, insisting there was “nothing” in his painting that “has not already been represented in artworks dating back hundreds of years”.
‘Homophobia and hatred’
Juan Espadas, leader of Spain’s ruling Socialist party in the Andalusia region, came to the defence of the artwork, denouncing the “expressions of homophobia and hatred” that it had caused, and saying it combined the region’s “tradition and modernity”.
Holy Week celebrations, which recall the death and resurrection of Christ, are important in Catholic Spain, notably in Seville, which is seen as the centre of such festivities.
Spain legalised homosexuality in 1976, three years after Franco’s dictatorship ended, and is one of the world’s most open countries with respect to LGBTQ rights, permitting same-sex marriage and allowing gay couples to adopt since 2005.
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