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Change Your Life

Neil MacGregor focuses on images with a purpose, including a gruesome depiction of Christ's crucifixion, with blood raining from the body, and a serene figure of the Buddha.

Neil MacGregor continues his series about the expression of shared beliefs with a focus on images which seek to change the viewer's behaviour.

A small coloured wood-cut, created in the Netherlands around 1500, offers a particularly gruesome rendering of Christ's crucifixion. Christ is pictured with blood pouring from his torso, his head, his legs and his outstretched arms. These are not realistically arranged droplets; instead we see a flurry of vertical red strokes, tightly packed together and evenly spaced. Neil MacGregor reflects on the purpose of this image.

He also considers a serene figure of the Buddha, a halo behind his head, already in his enlightened state.

Producer Paul Kobrak

Produced in partnership with the British Museum
Photograph (c) The Trustees of the British Museum.

Available now

14 minutes

Last on

Sun 14 Aug 2022 00:15
BBC Radio 4

More episodes

Previous

The Making of Meaning

Next

Rejecting the Image

See all episodes from Living with the Gods

Broadcasts

  • Thu 16 Nov 2017 09:45
    BBC Radio 4 FM
  • Thu 16 Nov 2017 19:45
    BBC Radio 4
  • Fri 12 Aug 2022 14:45
    BBC Radio 4
  • Sun 14 Aug 2022 00:15
    BBC Radio 4

Animations

Animations

Neil MacGregor tells the stories of some of the key objects in the series.

Podcast

  • Living with the Gods

    Neil MacGregor explores the role and expression of shared beliefs around the world.