Forest Lawn celebrates art of Easter

Alex Coolman

SOUTHEAST GLENDALE -- Out of the parting clouds, a vast sea of people

emerges. They walk in a thunderous procession, the sunlight of a new day

shining on their faces.

It sounds like some sort of hallucination, but it’s the subject of

Robert Clark’s massive painting “The Resurrection.”

It’s a work with a powerful religious theme, and the canvas of the

painting, at 3,500 square feet, is massive enough to do justice to the

idea of the Resurrection of the Dead.

At its Easter service this weekend, Forest Lawn Memorial-Park in

Glendale will display Clark’s painting along with a companion piece: Jan

Styka’s 1895 painting “The Crucifixion.”

Styka’s work, too, is immense. At 8,775 square feet, it’s the largest

permanently mounted-to-frame painting in the world.

The pair of overwhelming works is routinely on display at Forest Lawn,

but spokesman Dick Fisher said two things are remarkable about this

Sunday’s Sunrise Service, which will relate to the paintings.

For one thing, Fisher said, this year marks the 50th anniversary of

Forest Lawn’s acquisition of Styka’s painting.

And a new Spanish-language presentation specifically about Clark’s

“Resurrection” will be unveiled Sunday.

The speaker for the Easter service, to be conducted in Spanish, will

be the Rev. Jose Ricardo Hernandez, pastor of the Barrington Avenue

Hispanic Baptist Church of West Los Angeles.

Hernandez’ talk will address the themes contained in the pair of

paintings.

“They kind of center their service on the presentation of the two

paintings,” Fisher said. “It’s very appropriate for Easter week.”

AN ARTISTIC EASTER

WHAT: Sunrise Spanish-language service.

WHERE: Forest Lawn Memorial-Park, The Hall of The

Crucifixion-Resurrection, 1712 S. Glendale Ave.

WHEN: 6 a.m.