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  2. Sin

Sin

In a long Jewish tradition, which Christianity inherits, particular sins are wrongdoings, whether deliberate or accidental. But Christian teaching adds to this the idea of sin as an all-embracing condition, under which all our thoughts, feelings, and actions must operate. It names our complicity in forces greater than us which make it impossible to be entirely ‘pure’. To live in the world is to be embroiled in flawed structures and unruly desires, even as we rejoice in the truth, the goodness, and the beauty that is everywhere. These exhibitions explore both Jewish and Christian perspectives in biblical passages that shed light on our long history with, and of, sin.

Madonna and Child with St Anne [Dei Palafrenieri] by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio
Pietà [Lamentation] by Vecchietta
The Holy Family with the Christ Child Crushing the Serpent with His Feet by Sébastien Bourdon

Genesis 3:14–15 Crushing the Serpent

Cain killing Abel by Niccolò Tornioli
Cain and Abel by Titian
Cain slaying Abel by Peter Paul Rubens

Genesis 4:3–16 Cain and Abel

The Israelites Worship the Golden Calf, from Bible pictures by William de Brailes
The Adoration of the Golden Calf by Nicolas Poussin
L’Adoration du veau (Adoration of the Calf) by Francis Picabia

Exodus 32 The Golden Calf

Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995 [The Tent] by Tracey Emin
Leviticus, part of Divine Violence by Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin
Agnus-Dei: The Scapegoat (Agnus-Dei. Le bouc émissaire) by James Tissot

Leviticus 15–18 Scaping Sin

Among so many different commands lies the beautiful task of sowing on a hostile earth, plate 22 from Miserere. by George Rouault
Untitled (AT15), from the series Ametsuchi, by Rinko Kawauchi
La Joie III, by Caroline Chariot-Dayez

Leviticus 19–20 Holy Love, Holy Fire, Holy Justice

The Judgement of Solomon by Jusepe de Ribera (attrib.)
Solomon Making a Sacrifice to the Idols by Sébastien Bourdon
Solomon and the Queen of Sheba by Frans Francken II

Deuteronomy 17 Solomon in the Shadows

Old Testament Scene, possibly The Last Days of the World according to the Prophet Joel by Unknown Flemish artist
The Suicide of Saul in the Battle of Mount Gilboa against the Philistines by Pieter Bruegel I
The Death of Saul by

1 Samuel 31; 1 Chronicles 10 Decisions, Decisions

The Murder of Amnon by his brother Absalom by Bernardo Cavallino
Amnon and Thamar by Jan Steen
David and Absalom (from 'The Bible') by Marc Chagall

2 Samuel 13 Tamar and Amnon

Solomon Enthroned, Surrounded by Three Women, from Book of Hours (MS H.5), Unknown French artists [Paris]
Triptych with the Life Story of Solomon by Master of the Salomon triptych
Solomon's Idolatry by Lucas van Leyden

1 Kings 11; 2 Chronicles 9:29–31 Solomon’s Idolatry

Full-page historiated initial 'B'(eatus) at the beginning of Psalm 1, of King David harping, and the Judgement of Solomon, from The Rutland Psalter Add MS 62925, fol. 8v by Unknown English Artist
King David, from The Rothschild Miscellany by Unknown Italian Artist
Miniature of King David playing harp, decorated initial 'D'(omine), from the Book of Hours, Use of Chartres by Unknown French Artist

Psalm 1 The Blessed and the Wicked

Pagination

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More Exhibitions

General Resurrection from the Bamberg-Eichstätt Psalter by unknown German artist
Sarcophagus of Theodore by Unknown Italian artist
The Resurrection, Cookham by Stanley Spencer

1 Corinthians 15:35–58 Bodily Resurrection

Yellow Crucifixion by Marc Chagall
Christ appearing to Saint Peter on the Appian Way (Domine, Quo Vadis?) by Annibale Carracci
The Last Judgement by The Last Judgement

1 Peter 4:12–19 Finding Meaning in Suffering

The War in Heaven (pane 7g), part of The Great East Window of York Minster
Saint Michael and the Devil by Unknown Spanish Artist
The Fall of the Rebel Angels by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Revelation 12:7–12 War in Heaven

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