Everything in the canvases of The Crosses by Andrea Benetti speaks of joy, serenity, nature, and certainty in the Resurrection, despite the fact that the cross is an instrument of torture, of death—of a terrible death, as it was reserved for the most abject criminals, the most ignominious punishment.
This evident sense of joy is immediately conveyed through the richness, luminosity, and wide range of colors used by the Artist. It is a joy and serenity that evoke childhood—not a childishness that indulges in fleeting games, but rather the childlike state to which the Kingdom of Heaven is open, the very condition of conversion for those who seek to enter Paradise:
“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3)
It is almost an atmosphere of the primordial Golden Age, a time when war and hatred had not yet entered the human heart—an atmosphere reminiscent of the Eden described in the Book of Genesis.
This immediate sensation, which arises at first glance, is amply confirmed upon closer observation by the presence of symbols that possess the power to act on a deeper level, awakening echoes and knowledge whose universal roots lie within the human soul.
The crosses are all luminous, painted in white—a color that, among the three divine colors, refers to the uncreated and incarnate Light coming from the East. This Incarnation became necessary after the sin of the Progenitors, in order to show humanity the way back to the Father, to the primordial Garden (Paradise), where there is neither sin nor sunset, and where everything is joy in the contemplation of God.
In many of these crosses, the horizontal beam—the patibulum—intersects the vertical axis—the stipes—signifying the numerous attempts of the evil forces of the world to obstruct the action of Christ, the Timeless One, who broke into time to redeem it, teaching mankind the way to become children once again. This concept is emphasized in the crosses where the stipes intersects the patibulum, breaking the chains of sin that still bind humanity to the ground and prevent its ascent.
The backgrounds from which these crosses emerge symbolically convey messages of joy, peace, and Resurrection.
First and foremost, in the multiplicity of shapes and colors—reminiscent of Gothic stained glass—they allude to the beauty of paradise, which is inexpressible in human terms but only intuitable in its richness.
These celestial and floral figures all have rounded edges, as if to express the idea that in God’s presence, there are no harshnesses.
The five-pointed stars recall the wounds of Christ—the true Adam—on the cross, a necessary torment and death for our salvation, to redeem the sin of Adam and Eve.
The six-pointed stars, with their six extremities, symbolize the initials of Jesus Christ in the noble Greek capitals of iota (Ι) and chi (Χ), standing for Iesus Xristos.
The large twelve-petaled flower evokes the city with twelve gates in the Heavenly Jerusalem described in the Apocalypse (Rev. 21:10-14, 22-23), the City of God, the secure dwelling place of the elect, those who are saved by taking up their crosses and following in the footsteps of the Incarnate Son of God.
The elliptical shapes, devoid of angles, are symbols of God’s perfection, while the triangles represent His Trinitarian Unity.
The upward-pointing arrows teach and indicate, like the spires of churches, the ultimate goal.
Furthermore, the Artist’s use of color blending and the incorporation of aromatic vegetal essences expresses his intent to engage every aspect of nature—including scents and the plant world—in the message conveyed through these works.
A final observation on the large installation that completes the exhibition of these twelve canvases:
The cross, created by simply intertwining two wooden beams in a highly natural appearance and form, recalls the Tree of Life—the cross that, from an instrument of death, has become the certain prophecy of Resurrection. Meanwhile, the delicate preciousness of the two glass rods nailed onto the wood alludes to the Crux Pretiosa of Byzantine tradition, a symbolic testament to the immeasurable preciousness of Christ’s body, nailed there for our salvation.