Picture in Focus: The Virgin Mary, Jesus, and John the Baptist by Frank Humphrey Allen

May 30, 2021

Picture in Focus: The Virgin Mary, Jesus, and John the Baptist by Frank Humphrey Allen

He hath helped his servant Israel,
In remembrance of his mercy;
 As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham,
And to his seed for ever.
(Luke 1:53-55, KJV)

This concluding passage from the Magnificat presents the Virgin Mary's role as mother of the Christ Child as the culmination of God's plan to redeem the World through Abraham and his offspring. My final Marian image for the month from the Sacred Art Pilgrim Collection is a mixed-media drawing by British Artist Frank Humphrey Allen, where we see Mary with Jesus and John the Baptist, two children conceived in miraculous ways and destined from their mothers' wombs to be the Messiah and his chosen forerunner in the story of salvation. Jesus is distinguished by the cross in his halo and a medallion indicating he holds first place. Allen incorporates Christian symbols of the dove and fish into the image now on view on his biosketch page in the Sacred Artists section. (John Kohan)