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	Mother of Sorrows II	A crucifixion print	A plain cross
Detail	✓ Two faces, tender	✗ Wounds, explicit	✗ None
Palette	✓ One warm ivory	✗ Dark, red	— Wood or metal
Meaning	✓ Mother and Son at the end	— The crucifixion	— The cross
What it says	✓ Love stayed to the end	✗ Look at the suffering	— Faith lives here

The crown of thorns, shown with no graphic wounds

1 The crown is there. The gore is not.

A few fine lines on his brow, a single tear on hers. That is all the picture needs. You get the whole weight of the story without a scene you would have to explain to a child.

The canvas as the Lenten image for the season

2 It is the piece for Lent

Many homes change something for the season. This is the canvas that goes up on Ash Wednesday and, for most people, never comes down again.

The canvas hanging above a living room sofa

3 It works above a sofa

Explicit crucifixion art belongs in a church. This belongs in a living room. Guests see two faces close together in ivory and feel the tenderness before they read the subject.

Mary’s face given equal weight beside Christ’s

4 It is about her as much as him

Most Passion art is only about the cross. This one gives Mary equal weight. Her closed eyes and her tear carry half the picture, and half the meaning.

The single warm ivory tone that fits any room

5 One tone, so it fits

Warm ivory with a thread of gold. It sits with plaster, linen and wood. It does not turn the room into a chapel.

The sculpted ivory relief displayed as fine art

6 It is serious art, not a holy card

Old-master composition, sculpted relief look, faces you keep coming back to. It is a fine piece first, a devotional piece second, and it never feels like a gift-shop crucifix.

6 Reasons This Is the Passion Picture You Can Hang in a Living Room