Resurrected Jesus

Author: N / A

Created: 18th century.

Material / technique: wood carving, polychrome.  

Dimensions: high - 69 cm.

Resurrection of Jesus is the subject, which completes the Way of the Cross and depicts the Resurrection of Jesus on the third day after his death and His appearance to His followers. Jesus Christ is shown with a scarlet robe or a robe and a loincloth holding a long cross with a flag in His left hand, which symbolises victory over death and Resurrection; his right hand is raised for blessing.

Through His own power rising from the dead and never dying again, He clearly showed to us the long-awaited promise of a coming Messiah and Saviour. By rising from the dead Christ also confirmed our faith about the resurrection of people from the dead. As St Paul the Apostle says, ‘For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.’ (Motiejus Valančius, „Žyvatas Jėzaus Kristaus Viešpaties mūsų“, Raštai 3, p. 535)

Reference: "The Lithuanian art collection of Jaunius Gumbis". Museum and Collector - 6. Vilnius: National Museum of Lithuania, 2016, Kat. No, P. 112.

When discussing the "movement" of works of art, which is relevant from the point of view of heritage protection, it is worth briefly mentioning another well-known and rather sad fact in the history of Lithuanian church art - the constant moving and fading of works of art, especially after the defeated uprisings of 1831 and 1863, when the Tsarist government ordered the mass closure of monasteries and the transformation of churches into Orthodox churches. <...> It is true that there has been a recent trend where works of church art that were thought to be missing, and in some cases were (or even are) listed as state-protected objects, have been found in private collections. Such is the case of the sculpture (Fig. 10, II. 25.), formerly in the church of Alizava, now in a private collection. In 1960, the sculpture was recorded in a photograph (Fig. 9) by Jonas Gramba from the archives of the Cultural Heritage Research Board. Another sculpture in the same collection, dating from the 17th century (II.18), has no known provenance <...>.

Reference: "Conquering death. Wooden Sculptures of the Risen Christ from Lithuanian Churches", compiled by Asta Giniūnienė, Svetlana Poligienė, Vilnius: Lithuanian Ethnographic Museum, 2024, P. 22.

Exhibition: Exhibition of the collection of Lithuanian art of dr. Jaunius Gumbis "Collected and Preserved", September 2016 - January 2017, National Museum of Lithuania, Vilnius.

Published: "The Lithuanian art collection of Jaunius Gumbis". Museum and Collector - 6. Vilnius: National Museum of Lithuania, 2016, Kat. No, P. 115; "The traditional folk sculptures collection of Gediminas Petraitis".  Ed. Marytė Slušinskaitė. Vilnius: National Museum of Lithuania, 2012, P. 113; "Conquering death. Wooden Sculptures of the Risen Christ from Lithuanian Churches", compiled by Asta Giniūnienė, Svetlana Poligienė, Vilnius: Lithuanian Ethnographic Museum, 2024, P. 22, no 10; 

Photographs: Display in the exhibition "Collected and Preserved", September 2016 - January 2017, National Museum of Lithuania, Vilnius; Sculpture "The resurrected Christ", "Conquering death. Wooden Sculptures of the Risen Christ from Lithuanian Churches", compiled by Asta Giniūnienė, Svetlana Poligienė, Vilnius: Lithuanian Ethnographic Museum, 2024, P. 22, no 9, photo by J. Gramba;