By Nicole Acevedo -
NBC News
The controversy raised in Spain and on social networks by a poster of Jesus created to promote Holy Week in Seville has sparked mixed reactions among Spanish conservatives, who have considered the image an "aberration" and Jesus "sexualized and effeminate", and social media users, who have defended the painter's artistic vision and create memes mocking the image.
The Council of Brotherhoods, which organizes the main events of Holy Week in Seville,
commissioned the renowned artist Salustiano García months ago
to create a promotional painting for the celebration.
A painting of Christ by Spanish artist Salustiano García, created as the official poster for Seville's Holy Week 2024, in his studio in Bormujos, near Seville, on January 29, 2024. Cristina Quicler / AFP - Getty Images
García unveiled the final product on Saturday during an event attended by the leadership of the Council of Brotherhoods of Seville, as well as the city's mayor, José Luis Sanz.
The painter then explained to local media that his version of a resurrected Jesus painted on a plain red background was inspired by his son Horacio.
García's work was highly applauded and valued during the painting's inauguration.
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Speaking to the media after the event, Horacio declared that he had heard people say that his father's portrait of Jesus was "
very attractive
. [...] Thank you very much. That's all I have to say."
The artist Salustiano García with his son and model, Horacio, in front of his painting of Jesus created to promote the Holy Week festivities in Seville.Cristina Quicler / AFP - Getty Images
But after the event, criticism erupted.
Javier Navarro, of the far-right Vox party in Spain, said on the social media platform
Pablo Hertfelder García-Conde, president of the religious freedom organization IPSE, known for its ultra-conservative Catholic views, commented on the social network of Sevilla".
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An organization of Christian lawyers launched a petition
requesting the removal of the poster
and the resignation of the president of the Council of Brotherhoods, Francisco Vélez.
The petition had gathered more than 21,000 signatures as of Thursday afternoon.
In response to criticism, the painter told Spanish newspaper ABC that his depiction of Jesus was "kind, elegant and beautiful" and created with "deep respect."
"To see sexuality in my image of Christ, you have to be sick," he noted, saying there was "nothing" in his painting that "has not already been represented in works of art dating back hundreds of years."
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A user of the social network
Rafa López, a well-known Spanish sociologist and political scientist, also responded to criticism in a news program: "Those who are scandalized by the Holy Week poster in Seville do not do so because it is a tradition, but because they
are deeply racist and homophobic
."