The Significance of Holbein’s ‘Christ in the Tomb’ in Dostoevsky’s ‘The Idiot’.

 by Isaac Mead

“Why, some people may lose their faith looking at that picture!” Exclaims Prince Myshkin, the central character of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s ‘The Idiot’ when observing Hans Holbein’s ‘The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb’ (shown above).

Recently when endeavouring on a mission to read some Russian literature and coming across ‘The Idiot’, I was struck by the repeated references to said painting in the book and what such a mention sought to achieve. The book itself is a meditation on the spiritual emptiness of Russian society in the 19th century, with Prince Myshkin, the titular ‘Idiot’ of the story, positioned by Dostoevsky as a “positively good man”. This concept of said man is consistently probed in the narrative, with allusions to Holbein’s painting exploring how this is represented through iconic imagery. 

Two years before writing the novel, Dostoevsky encountered the painting whilst travelling in Switzerland with his wife, Anna. Details of this trip are revealed by Anna in her diary as she details how Dostoevsky remarked to himself that the painting had the power to make a man question their own faith. These words are paralleled by Prince Myshkin in the narrative as he examines the painting himself. 

Visually, the painting is significant in the way it portrays the brutal reality of life; there is no redemption offered to Christ in the image, only his body is left to decompose. This contrasts with what one would expect Christ to be represented as in popular imagery, with nothing overtly divine being illustrated. The horizontal position, claustrophobic aspect ratio, contorted hand, disturbing facial expression and gaunt body structure all serve to emphasise the significance of death in the painting. Colour-wise, Holbein employs muddied green and brown tones to reinforce the lifelessness of the figure, with no hope of redemption. Moreover, blood, a symbol of life itself, appearing only through the wounds enhances the idea of pain and suffering for Christ. 

The inclusion of the book in character Ippolit’s suicide note draws further connections between the painting and mortality, as they state that “The picture seems to give expression to the idea of a dark, insolent, and senselessly eternal power, to which everything is subordinated, and it is conveyed to you involuntarily”. There is a sense that in viewing the picture, a subconscious response beyond the characters’ control is elicited which drives him to question his faith and existence even further. 

Christ’s position as an outsider to society is echoed through Prince Myshkin as he is often positioned on the periphery of social situations. Personality-wise, he is empathic, intelligent and often too trusting, resulting in his ultimate failure at the conclusion of the novel. He is, just as Holbein’s Christ is, not offered any chance of redemption despite his good qualities. There is an underlying notion that however “positively good” one is, there is an inevitability to their eventual downfall. 

The subversion of the iconography of Christ is a product of Dostoevsky’s aim: he denoted  himself that he aimed “to confront Christian faith with everything that negated it”. Numerous characters in the book propose extensive arguments against the Orthodox Chritsian Faith prominent in Russia during the 1800s, with their perspectives validated by the references to Holbein’s harsh portrayal of a divine figure. These beliefs which contrast with Dostoevsky’s devout Christianity exemplify how he attempted to “negate” them through their inclusion in the books which he wrote. 

Overall, I found it most interesting exploring how Dostoevsky was able to subvert images and their representation to act as subtle devices which foreshadow the end that ‘The Idiot’ in the novel meets.