Oleg Shuplyak is a Ukrainian artist who began his career studying architecture. He used the skills he obtained to position images inside other images, creating a group of paintings of optical illusions. He uses people in natural scenes to create a larger portrait of famous and spiritual figures in history. In 1992, Shuplyak painted the Coming of the Messiah. The analysis of this painting suggests that the optical illusion and the figures within it hold relation to depict the holy trinity by putting Jesus at the focal point, which represents his coming, the Holy Spirit is the dove above Him, and the optical face is God, the father. 

The perspective in Shuplyak’s paintings tend to be unique depending on whether it is zoomed in or out. The Holy Trinity is often displayed as one being- Jesus, however, this painting is different because it depicts all three aspects of the trinity in different perspectives. If this painting was zoomed in, you would see Jesus as he is in the distance, and above, the dove representing the Holy Spirit would be in the sky. If the painting was zoomed out the face of God would be seen. What is interesting, though, is the face of God looks almost identical to Jesus’s face. This pertains to the Christian idea that Jesus is the son of God, but he is also God himself.  

The dove, or holy spirit, Jesus, and the features of God’s face make a cross in this painting. The cross is known to represent Christianity because the followers believe it is what Jesus died on. Further, this symbol of the cross within the painting holds Jesus in the center echoing a similar Christian symbol called a crucifix. The water in the river symbolizes purity and cleansing. Also, the bible claims that water symbolizes baptism- “and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also--not the removal of dirt from the body but in pledge of a clear conscience toward God” (1 Peter 3:21). In the Christian faith, it is believed to get baptized after accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior by submerging yourself in water in order to cleanse the soul of sin. 

This painting appeals more to the emotions of those who hold Christianity in their hearts. These people will be more aware of the power this painting reveals as opposed to those who are not a Christian or know nothing about Christianity. Therefore, this painting is directed at those who believe in Jesus. Being a believer of Christ requires spreading the word. The Bible states that the job of the Christian is to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” (Mark 16:15). Since those who understand this painting are most likely Christians, they can share the word by explaining this painting to who do not understand. The people in the foreground of the painting display this idea because they are followers of Jesus who are awaiting his coming. Those on the right of the painting are on their knees bowing down to Jesus. The woman, though, is standing; perhaps she is not a follower and the men are talking about Jesus because of the way their hands are positioned. The man to the left with the cross-shaped staff is a common shepherd. He represents Jesus being the good shepherd of Christianity. He is believed to be a storyteller elevated on a rock telling the people an experience he had with Jesus or what Jesus has done for others that changed their life.

Paintings are unique because, unlike a movie, show or comic, they illustrate a particular moment in time, not a story. Within a painting, however, the figures tell us, as spectators, what to look at. Besides the fact that Jesus is the center of Shuplyak’s painting, the figures in the foreground tell the audience to look at Him because they are looking at Him. This echoes the title, Coming of the Messiah. They are awaiting His coming, and spectators play a role in this as our eyes are drawn to see Jesus and the Holy Trinity. Although this painting depicts a particular moment in history, there are people who still choose to follow Christianity today. 

Michel Foucault’s analysis of Las Meninas explores the illusory nature of Velazquez’s painting and its relationship to reality. He does this by explaining the spectator’s role in the painting. Foucault expresses his idea that “from the eyes of the painter to what he is observing there runs a compelling line that we, the onlookers, have no power of evading: it runs through the real picture and emerges from its surface to join the place from which we see the painter observing us; this dotted line reaches out to us ineluctably, and links us to the representation of the picture” (Foucault 2). This implies that the viewers of the painting contribute to the subject of the artist’s painting. Later on, however, Foucault brings attention to the mirror displayed behind the artist. The realistic measure of this painting is that “the two personages serving as models to the painter are not visible, at least directly; but that we can see them in a mirror; and that they are, without any doubt, King Philip IV and his wife, Mariana” (Foucault 6). The illusion versus reality relationship can be applied to Shuplyak’s painting. The illusion in Coming of the Messiah is the image of God. The reality of this painting is Jesus is standing in a desert across a river with mountains in the distance behind Him. The illusory purpose is to illustrate God’s face with what He created. Spiritually, God created the earth and all of its nature. In the book of Genesis, it says “now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” (Genesis 1:2). In the Coming of the Messiah, the illusion of God is positioned above a river, thus pertaining to the Spirit of God hovering over waters. The nature within the illusion of God’s face is outlined with thin trees. His eyes are made of mountain in the background and His lips are made of rock along the river. His beard is made up of the water with cattails for texture and wet grass for a mustache. Jesus, who is standing in the middle of the desert, is His nose, and although Jesus is not part of nature, He is a part of God.

The first story in The Bible declares God to be the creator of all things, including nature. This is crucial to the structure of this painting because the features within the illusion of God is made up of natural life- trees, water, desert, people. These natural beings signify possibly one of the most important stories told in The Bible, and one of the most important beliefs of Christianity. What is most interesting is how Shuplyak ties together these significant beliefs, as well as the belief in The Holy Trinity, to depict the painting of Coming of the Messiah. 
