For the Martyrs
Morteza Katouzian
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Date:1983 - 1984; Iran, Islamic Republic of -
Style:Contemporary Realism -
Genre:religious painting -
Media:oil, canvas -
Dimensions:74 x 100 cm
For the Martyrs
Morteza Katouzian
“They never killed him, they never crucified him they were made to think that they did.”
Translation of a part of Al-Nisah Sura, Verse 157,Holy Quran
Observing the above verse revoked my love and respect of Michelangelo’s masterpiece which had penetrated my mind in long years. I saw Jesus, as an oppressed human of blood and flesh, detached from his stone figure, and aware of his destiny, in Mary’s embrace, who resembles stone and is a symbol of resistant mothers all throughout the history. It seemed to me that a tear-drop fell on Mary’s stone chick and the sky turned dark and bloody. I noticed a bullet instead of a cross at the feet of the statue. My Christ is not only the crucified Christ of the past; he is the man of reality. He is the cry of all oppressed and victims of the history.
