"The Shadow of Death"
Artist: William Holman Hunt
Year: 1871
Type: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 214.2 cm × 168.2 cm (84.3 in × 66.2 in)
Location: Manchester City Art Gallery, Manchester
Occasionally, I post things other than writing on SoulJournaler that I find interesting.
A painting from William Holman Hunt.
It is a portrait of Christ working in a carpenters shop before he began His ministry. He is stretching after a day's hard work. If you look closely you will see that Jesus' shadow is cast over the tools hanging from the slat of wood. These tools and the wooden crossbar are echoes of the crucifixion. The specter of the Cross hung over Jesus' entire life. He knew it was coming...the cross made Him suffer even when He wasn't hanging on it. His eyes are lifted to Heaven.
Behind Him is an unidentified woman digging through a chest on the floor. You almost get the idea that she is panicked having seen the shadow of Christ on the wall. Although we don't know her identity for sure, our intuition tell us it is Mary, Jesus' mother. She is looking for the gold, frankincense and myrrh from Christ's birth.
Stott, John R. W.. The Cross of Christ. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1986. Print.
2 comments:
this is such an interesting view, that for Jesus to stretch or lift his hands in praise he would be acting out the coming shadow. even when we ourselves climb into bed for some hopefully well-earned physical rest, we might reflect that there will come an awakening that will not be to an earthly morning. i was reading in ecclesiastes all day today. it seems like God's people were just a-wondering all the time, exactly WHAT was going on?! for starters, why would He have a "chosen people", that were then not supposed to go & be all proud about it! lol! we live in such a Blessed Time, where everything is being made clear in Christ! & all we are expected to do is let other fellas know about Him! (:D yay! it's gonna be GREAT! (:D Jesus Loves You (:D
Amen!
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