Picture in Focus: Jesus' First Appearance to His Disciples by Jos Speybrouck

April 17, 2016

Picture in Focus: Jesus

This week's new work from the Sacred Art Pilgrim Collection depicting the events after Easter shows the Risen Christ's first appearance to his disciples, recorded in Luke 24:36-51. In Belgian Printmaker Jos Speybrouck's dramatic presentation of the scene the disciples fall back in fear and wonder as an eerily illuminated Jesus floats out of a purple void to greet them, the imprint of the nail visible in the hand he raises in blessing. This chromolithograph in Art Deco style comes from the Spanish edition of a poster series illustrating the liturgical calendar, which Speybrouck created in the 1930s for the Benedictine Abbaye-de-St.-Andre near Bruges in Belgium. The text at the bottom, excerpted from Luke 24:36-39, reads: "He appeared in their midst and said to them: Peace be with you. They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them: Look at my hands and my feet. It is I. Touch me and see." This new poster can be found in the image gallery of the Jos Speybrouck profile page in the Sacred Artists section. (John Kohan)