A few nights ago my family was watching a movie by Francis Schaeffer, How Should We Then Live, and we learned about the Renaissance; and the next night, about the Reformation. It was talking about the humanistic view during the Renaissance, and how it can be seen in the paintings of the time, with the self-portraits and pieta's of art. It is seen in Michalangelo's pieta in Florence, of him carving his own face in the carving of Nicodemus, bringing Christ down from the cross. Below is a picture of the pieta. 
The Reformation, however, showed a change, from the humanistic way of life, to a biblical view of salvation by grace. Again, the views of the time can be seen in the paintings or pieta by the people of that time. Below is a painting by a man by the name of Rembrandt.
Rembrandt, is the man highlighted (bringing himself out) in the middle with his painters hat on, holding up the cross of Christ. Rembrandt understood that it was his sins that had sent Christ to the cross (among other things), and he knew that he had put Christ upon the cross. Rembrandt was "THE SINNER" in his own eyes, even as the publican called himself the same name. And I thought this morning, "I don't consider myself "THE SINNER" enough." If ever I do. It was I who was an enemy (or the enemy) of Christ. There is always someone else worse than us to compare ourselves too. I need to understand that I was the man in the middle of this painting holding up the cross of Christ.
-Kole
