A Buried Treasure For Easter

For today, Easter Sunday, here is another treasure, albeit a buried one—and so it seems appropriate to resurrect it for this day. This art of the risen Christ was actually created for the Ascension cover of Treasure Chest, dated May 11, 1961 (the day on which Ascension Thursday fell that year) but I liked its stylized yet almost primitive style for today. What was Treasure Chest? With its full title of Treasure Chest of Fun & Fact, this unusual comic book was published weekly on a September-June schedule for Catholic schools from 1946 through 1972. Though there were always stories about faith and saints and the like, there were adventure and humor stories, too, all told through the comic form. Look for more about Treasure Chest here in Tulgey Wood...and in the meantime, enjoy this no-longer buried art treasure for Easter. 

A Paas-sical Disney Celebration

During many periods of its history, the Paas Easter Egg Coloring Kits have boasted some wonderfully whimsical art, including the charming illustration on this box (left) from the 1960s. The brand name "Paas" was chosen by the late-1800s inventor of the original Easter egg dye, William Townley of Newark, New Jersey, from “Passen,” the word that his Pennsylvania Dutch neighbors used for Easter. ("Passen" from "Pasch" used for both Passover and Easter.) Over the years, Paas has also licensed Disney characters and art, as in the second image at left of transfer art (used to decorate the colored eggs) featuring Mickey, Minnie, Bambi and other Disney favorites from Easter 1944. Happy Easter (make that Happy Pasch)!

Considering The Lillies Of The Field For Easter

Here is another evocative painting from the "program" (actually a hardcover book) for MGM's epic Ben-Hur. Ben Stahl—an acclaimed artist and illustrator for such publications as Esquire and The Saturday Evening Post who used layered and glazed acrylics and oils to striking effect— was commissioned by MGM to paint several pieces as a promotion/celebration of their screen spectacle. Included in the series of paintings was this powerful portrayal of the Sermon of the Mount. The painting's staging is consistent with the portrayal of Jesus in the film, for Ben-Hur famously never shows the face of the Christ; instead, the audience is most often shown only the back of Jesus, portrayed by the uncredited Claude Heater. (The 1902 stage version of the story took an even more stylized approach by portraying Christ with only a beam of light.) Though this dramatic artwork does not specifically portray a Resurrection scene, its simple yet dynamic beauty is more than appropriate for Easter Sunday.