The Visual Commentary on Scripture

THOMAS COLE The Garden of Eden, 1828, Oil on canvas, 97.8 x 134 cm, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas; Courtesy of Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas

Thomas Cole was only 27 years old when he painted his Garden of Eden (1828). As one of the forefathers of the Hudson River School, he celebrated the majesty of the American landscape.

Take a closer look at Cole's Paradise in our exhibition on Genesis 2:9–17:

thevcs.org/garden-eden#...

The Garden of Eden Exhibition: The Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:9–17). Featuring works of art by Thomas Cole, Hieronymus Bosch and Unknown Persian artist. Commentaries by Andrew Hui.

"If gardens are fixed green monuments, then scriptures and carpets are portable gardens, nomadic objects that offer refuge from inhospitable neighbours and harsh surroundings."
This week's exhibition from @thevcs.bsky.social
thevcs.org/garden-eden
⚓

GIOVANNI ANTONIO DA BRESCIA Christ before Pilate, 1500–05, Engraving on paper, 291 x 314 mm, The Art Institute of Chicago; Bequest of Mrs. Potter Palmer, Jr., 1956.984, The Art Institute of Chicago / Art Resource, NY

Donato Loia writes: 'In the stillness of Christ’s figure—poised, silent, and unyielding—we see the embodiment of spiritual freedom: a refusal to submit to the logic of empire.'

Read about Giovanni Antonio da Brescia’s engraving in our exhibition of the week:

thevcs.org/sheep-among-...

UNKNOWN ARTIST Christ holding a Sword, by an Unknown artist, 14th century, Fresco, Sacred Monastery of the Ascension of Christ, Visoki Dečani, Kosovo; Godong / Alamy Stock Photo

The Gospel of Matthew records Jesus’s declaration: ‘Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword’.

This 14th-century fresco in the Visoki Dečani Monastery in Kosovo depicts Jesus holding a sword:

thevcs.org/sheep-among-...

SASSETTA Saint Francis renounces his Earthly Father, 1437–44, Egg tempera on wood, 87.5 x 52.4 cm, The National Gallery, London; Bought with contributions from the Art Fund, Benjamin Guinness and Lord Bearsted, 1934, NG4758, Courtesy National Gallery London

Matthew 10:16–36 presents the worldly authorities and the absolute authority of the Spirit as conflicting forces.

This idea finds a striking parallel in the story of St Francis and his father, as depicted in Sassetta’s painting. Click here to take a closer look:

thevcs.org/sheep-among-...

The Command to Rebuild the Temple Exhibition: The Command to Rebuild the Temple (Haggai 1). Featuring works of art by Paul Neagu and Phyllida Barlow. Commentaries by Ruth Jackson Ravenscroft.

The book of the prophet Haggai is addressed to the ‘remnant’ of God’s people living in Jerusalem, some 20 years after those forcibly displaced in the Babylonian exile were allowed to return to the city.

Find out more in our exhibition 'The Command to Rebuild the Temple':

thevcs.org/command-rebu...

PHYLLIDA BARLOW untitled: slidingupturnedhouse, 2015, Plywood, cement, plaster, bonding plaster, scrim, PVA, paint, timber & sand, 93 x 140.6 cm, British Council Collection; P8636, ©️ Phyllida Barlow Estate Courtesy the Phyllida Barlow Estate and Hauser & Wirth; Photo: Alex Delfanne

In Haggai 1, much of the action revolves around precarious, unsettled, dwelling places.

On top of Phyllida Barlow's sculpture sits a precariously balanced wooden ‘house’ that looks as though it's about to fall off.

Take a closer look in this week's exhibition:

thevcs.org/command-rebu...

PAUL NEAGU Full Hand, 1970–71, Wood and copper wire, 2.8 x 22.5 x 32.5 cm, Tate; Purchased 2000, T07753, ©️ Paul Neagu / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo: ©️ Tate, London / Art Resource, NY

PAUL NEAGU Empty Hand, 1970–71, Wood and metal, 28 x 225 x 325 cm, Tate; Purchased 2000, T07752, ©️ Paul Neagu / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo: ©️ Tate, London / Art Resource, NY Image

Our Exhibition of the Week features not one, but two closely-related wooden sculptures by Paul Neagu.

Click on the link to find out what they have to say about Haggai 1:

thevcs.org/command-rebu...

SALVADOR DALÍ Christ of St John of the Cross, 1951, Oil on canvas, 238.5 x 148.8 cm, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow; Purchased, 1952, 2964, ©️ CSG CIC Glasgow Museums Collection / Bridgeman Images

It explores the contrast between light and darkness as a metaphor for creation, time, and eternity. It uses the canvas to exploit the evangelist’s spatial language of ‘above’ and ‘below’.

Click here to find out more in our exhibition of the week:

thevcs.org/way-glory#yo...

SALVADOR DALÍ Christ of St John of the Cross, 1951, Oil on canvas, 238.5 x 148.8 cm, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow; Purchased, 1952, 2964, ©️ CSG CIC Glasgow Museums Collection / Bridgeman Images

Dalí’s 'Christ of St John of the Cross' is Johannine in many ways.

It captures the mood of the prologue of John’s Gospel, which begins, ‘In the beginning’.

Excellent The VCS entry. I saw the statue this summer, and it is well worth the trip to go there. Cf. another The VCS entry on other images of James here: thevcs.org/you-may-be-m...

Wow I love this 🥰 I just had to do a reflection on why I read for my literary criticism class and I wrote a bit about the Bible and believing reading can be integral to seeking spiritual/ethical/emotionak inspiration...this painting captures that for me in an image

QUINTEN MASSYS Triptych with the Family of St Anne, 1509, Oil on oak, 224,5 x 219 cm (central panel), 220 x 92 cm (side panels), Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels; Acquired from the Church of Saint-Pierre in Leuven, 1880, Artefact / Alamy Stock Photo

Quinten Massys' monumental triptych in Brussels is the second work in this week's exhibition.

It takes its lead from the second-century Gospel of James, also known as the Protoevangelium, filling in more details of the story of Mary.

Click here to take a closer look:

thevcs.org/way-glory#ja...

MASTER MATEO St James, from the Portico of Glory (Portico di Gloria), c.1168–88, Granite, Santa Apostólica y Metropolitana Iglesia Catedral de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela; PRISMA ARCHIVO / Alamy Stock Photo

James the son of Zebedee is best known for being the patron saint of pilgrimage.

This statue of James can be found in Santiago de Compostela, a site closely associated with pilgrimage.

Take a closer look in this week's exhibition, 'The Way to Glory':

thevcs.org/way-glory#si...

Psalm 104 O Lord, How Manifold Are Thy Works! Commentaries by Wesley Vander Lugt

Psalm 104 presents the earth and everything in it as a theatre of God’s glory that incites the praise of God’s people. None of the characters or scenes in this creational theatre is insignificant.

Take a closer look at our exhibition of the week:

thevcs.org/o-lord-how-m...

SANDRA BOWDEN He Established the Earth Upon Its Foundations, 1980, Collagraph, 45.7 x 35.6 cm, Private Collection; ©️ Sandra Bowden, courtesy of the artist

Sandra Bowden’s collagraph takes inspiration from the psalmist’s pronouncement that God has set the earth on an immovable foundation.

Click here to read about the third work in our exhibition on #Psalm 104:

thevcs.org/o-lord-how-m...

VINCENT VAN GOGH Long Grass with Butterflies, 1890, Oil on canvas, 64.5 x 80.7 cm, The National Gallery, London; Bought, Courtauld Fund, 1926, NG4169, Courtesy National Gallery London

Van Gogh wrote that ‘all nature seems to speak … I do not understand why everyone does not see and feel it; nature or God does it for everyone who has eyes and ears and a heart to understand’.

Take a closer look at 'Long Grass with Butterflies' in this week's exhibition:

thevcs.org/o-lord-how-m...

STEPHANIE ANN VANDER LUGT The World Spills, 2024, Mixed fibres, 91.4 x 91.4 cm, Private Collection; ©️ Stephanie Ann Vander Lugt

The title of this work, 'The World Spills', comes from an essay by philosopher Bayo Akomolafe who writes that ‘the world spills in excess of itself’.

Find out more in our exhibition on #Psalm 104, 'O Lord, How Manifold Are Thy Works!'

thevcs.org/o-lord-how-m...

CRISTÓBAL DE VILLALPANDO Adoration of the Magi, 1683, Oil on canvas, Fordham University, New York; Used by permission of the Fordham University Art Collection

Cristobal de Villalpando, trained in Mexico City by Baltasar de Echave Rioja, son of one of the first Hispanic artists to emigrate to ‘New Spain’ (as Mexico was then known), was inspired by Rubens for his depiction of the Magi.

Take a closer look here:

thevcs.org/adoration-ma...

BENOZZO GOZZOLI The Journey of the Magi. Detail from the east wall of the Chapel of the Magi , 1459, Fresco, Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Florence; Luisa Ricciarini / Bridgeman Images

Benozzo Gozzoli's fresco cycle, painted for the Medici family's private chapel in 1459, is one of the most impressive depictions of the Journey of the Magi.

Take a closer look in our exhibition of the week, The Adoration of the Magi:

thevcs.org/adoration-ma...

UNKNOWN BYZANTINE ARTIST The Magi offer gifts to the Madonna and Child , 6th century, Mosaic, Basilica di Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna; Terence Kerr / Alamy Stock Photo

In the week of #Epiphany, our Exhibition of the Week looks at the Adoration of the Magi.

Click here to read Timothy Verdon's commentary on Matthew 2:1–12 and this sixth-century mosaic in the church of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo at Ravenna:

thevcs.org/adoration-ma...

FUNG CHUNLAN I Don’t Know about Tomorrow, 2023, Photograph; Courtesy Fung Chunlan

Fung Chunlan’s photograph 'I Don’t Know about Tomorrow' features a boy in an outfit of ginkgo leaves standing against the backdrop of an ominous storm.

Find out more in this week's exhibition on Ephesians 1:

thevcs.org/gods-holy-pe...

DAMIEN HIRST God Alone Knows, 2007, Glass, painted stainless steel, silicone, mirror, stainless steel, plastic cable ties, sheep and formaldehyde solution with steel, and Carrara marble plinths, One tank 380 x 201 x 61 cm, two tanks 324 x 171 x 61 cm, Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo; ©️ Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS/Artimage. Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates Ltd

The offensive mingling of the grotesque and the sacred, not unlike the original crucifixion of Christ, belies a profound message of faith in Damien Hirst's 'God Alone Knows'.

Read about it in our exhibition on Ephesians 1:

thevcs.org/gods-holy-pe...

GAO LEI Devonian Christmas, 2021, Acrylic on board, 180 x 130 cm; Image courtesy of the artist

We continue our weekly exhibitions with a closer look at #Ephesians 1.

Gao Lei’s painting 'Devonian Christmas' presents a horseshoe crab flanked by a murex snail and a trilobite.

Curious? Find out more by clicking here:

thevcs.org/gods-holy-pe...

JOHN REILLY Holy Family, Date unknown, Oil on board, 106.7 x 106.7 cm, Private collection; ©️ Jillian Reilly, courtesy of https://thejohnreillygallery.co.uk

The Visual Commentary on Scripture wishes you a Happy Christmas!

thevcs.org/establishing...

Looking for Christmas-themed works of art and commentaries?

Look no further than the VCS:

thevcs.org/themes/chris...

Produced in partnership with the National Museums in Berlin, these short films tell the story of Jesus and the Virgin Mary.

Have you seen our film series about Jesus and the Virgin Mary, produced in partnership with the National Museums in Berlin?

Take a look at our video channel to find out more:

thevcs.org/video-channel

PONTORMO The Visitation (detail), 1514–16, Fresco, 392 x 337 cm, Santissima Annunziata, Florence; Scala / Art Resource, NY

Chloë Reddaway writes about 'the faithful and joyful fertility of the Virgin' and 'the new covenant of grace in Christ', beautifully depicted in Pontormo's fresco of the #Visitation.

A look at today's joyful #Advent commentary:

thevcs.org/quickening-c...

AGNES MARTIN Happiness, 1999, Acrylic and graphite on canvas, 152.4 x 152.4 cm, Dia Art Foundation, New York; Partial gift, Lannan Foundation, 2013, 2013.014, © Agnes Martin / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Photo: Bill Jacobson Studio, New York; Photo: Bill Jacobson Studio, New York, courtesy Dia Art Foundation, New York

Psalm 139 is a perfect companion to Agnes Martin's humble, joyful work:

'Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is so high that I cannot attain it.'

In the third week of #Advent, we explore joy:

thevcs.org/darkness-ill...

UNKNOWN ENGLISH ARTIST David Bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem (detail), from Illustrated Vita Christi, c.1480–90, Illumation of tempera colours and gold leaf on parchment, 119 x 170 mm, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; Ms. 101 (2008.3), fol. 14r, Image courtesy of the Getty's Open Content Program

David is the "poster boy" for this year's #Advent campaign, epitomising joy (this week's theme) as the Ark of the Covenant is carried to Jerusalem.

Read 'Spreading the Joy' and find out more:

thevcs.org/david-dances...