SUZANNE McCULLAGH (Curator, Art Institute of Chicago): He deserves to be considered the cinematographer of his day. He could be the Mel Gibson. He was the one that was going to reach the audiences by taking the most important part of the biblical story for Christians and delving into it in greater detail.
"The Agony in the Garden" is one of his most poignant, tiny masterpieces. Christ is comforted by the angel who has come down. Rembrandt shows him getting spiritual guidance from a very loving source.
This is "Christ Presented to the People." It shows a moment where the entire crowd has been gathered to pass judgment as to who should be executed, Barabbas or Christ. I would have to say that the Jewish people represented by this crowd are respectfully depicted. You can see the admiration and thoughtfulness with which the doctors of the church seem to be represented on either side.
He suddenly realized, after working on this for quite a long time, that having all these marvelous details perhaps distracted from the real drama at hand. So he did something very radical -- he decided to remove this crowd and make us be the crowd that has to decide Christ's fate."Christ Carrying the Cross" is one of the most evocative of the scenes that Rembrandt, the cinematographer, gives to us of the Passion play. You see Christ stumbling under the weight of the cross, his lanky arm dangling here, lifeless.
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