I studied in Italy as an undergraduate for a History of Early Christianity class. One day I was at the Vatican researching the Stations of the Cross. On the way home, I crossed the Pont Sant Angelo, the bridge across the Tiber from Vatican City to Rome proper, and saw the angel statues. Each one represents a different Station of the Cross.  The angel pictured here is 'Vulnerasti', or in English, "He is pierced"  I didn't have my camera with me, but knew that I had to take this picture. I ran back to the Vatican and bought a disposable camera and snapped this shot. I was taken with how beautiful the angel was even though it was representing such a horrible thing...eventually I thought about how beauty and horror were equally parts of the Christian story, and it all seemed to fit.    The picture is not the art, it's more the 'dream' that is the art.   More simply said, it is not just a 'pretty picture', but instead the right angle; the artist feels the subject matter in a more emotional sense and thus has a reason for preserving the exact moment. - Chris   

Photo "Vulnerasti" by Chris Wilson.  ©2003-2005 . All rights reserved.