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I first saw
this painting by
Euryl Stevens
in the book
Seeing the Spiritual
A Guide to the Methodist
Modern Art Collection
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This is ‘The
Raising of Lazarus’
painted in 1964
:
Euryl Stevens (1964) The Raising of Lazarus
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It depicts a story
from the Gospel of John
chapter 11, when Jesus
raised Lazarus from
the dead
.
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The
first thing
I notice about the
painting is the hands
on either side
.
Although the
position of the arms
could not be anatomically
correct, it seems to draw us
into the scene. We are
seeing it from Jesus’
point of view
:
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Lazarus
was the brother
of Mary and Martha,
friends of Jesus,
who loved
them
.
So
the sisters
sent word to Jesus,
“Lord, the one you love
is sick.” When he heard this,
Jesus said, “This sickness
will not end in death
.
No, it is
for God’s glory
so that God’s Son
may be glorified
through it.”
Now
Jesus loved
Martha and her
sister and Lazarus
.
John 11:3-5
…
but by the time
Jesus and his disciples
traveled back to Judea,
Lazarus had died
.
On
his arrival,
Jesus found that
Lazarus had already
been in the tomb
for four days
.
John 11:17
This is
the scene in
the lower section
of the painting,
below the
red line
.
Stillness &
Darkness
Death
:
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Above
the red line we
see a four-part
scenario
.
Lazarus wakes, rises and
exits the tomb. Does the fourth
space pre-figure the empty tomb
after the resurrection of Jesus
?
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Here
is the part of
the biblical story
that describes the
image above
:
Jesus, once more
deeply moved, came
to the tomb. It was a cave
with a stone laid across the
entrance. “Take away the stone,”
he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha,
the sister of the dead man, “by this
time there is a bad odor, for he has
been there four days.” Then Jesus
said, “Did I not tell you that if
you believe, you will see
the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone.
Then Jesus looked up and said,
“Father, I thank you that you have
heard me. I knew that you always hear
me, but I said this for the benefit of the
people standing here, that they may
believe that you sent me.”
When he had said this,
Jesus called in a loud voice,
“Lazarus, come out!” The dead
man came out, his hands and feet
wrapped with strips of linen, and
a cloth around his face. Jesus
said to them, “Take off the
grave clothes and
let him go.”
John 11:38-44
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For the image of Lazarus,
Euryl paints her father’s face,
who died in World War II
:
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I keep
coming back
to this painting,
probably because
of the crowd
.
Therefore
many of the Jews who
had come to visit Mary, and
had seen what Jesus did,
believed in him
.
John 11:45
On the left we see
Mary and Martha, the
sisters of Lazarus, standing
behind rows of priests
and clergymen
.
The crowd on the right
is being held back by a row
of policemen, although one
girl on the far right is not
constrained by them.
(is this the artist?)
Among the people
in the crowd are figures
with animal heads, which
Stevens identified as
the non-believers
:
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I have to admit,
there is much about this
painting (and this story)
that I don’t understand
.
Thankfully,
I found a quote
by her about this, so
I’m closing with her
own words
:
Seeing a good exhibition
where painters have expressed
their emotions and reactions
to life in their world – I find
very stimulating
.
Pictures portraying
Mary and Jesus do nothing
for me, but one can find a
‘celebration of life’ in the
most unexpected work
.
I agree
!!!
Euryl Stevens (1964)
oil on board, 125 cm x 100 cm
p.102 of ‘Seeing the Spiritual, A Guide to
The Methodist Modern Art Collection’
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The icon
for this article
is a detail from
Euryl Stevens’
The Raising
of Lazarus
:
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