St. Christopher

This is a large ink drawing on Japanese paper. Its composition is traditional, but the style of drawing is heavily influenced by Utagawa Kuniyoshi’s woodblock prints. The Latin inscription is from the last chapter of the Gospel of Matthew: All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. The text resonates especially well with a passage from the life of St. Christopher related in the Golden Legend:

Setting the Child down he said to him: My boy, you put me in great danger, and you weighed so much that if I had the whole world on my back I could not have felt a heavier burden! The Child answered: Do not be surprised, Christopher! You were not only carrying the whole world, you had Him who created the world upon your shoulders!

I wanted the image to convey this weight bearing down upon the saint, and this determined much of the surrounding imagery, which represents all of Creation, according to day.



 Visit this web page to read my full description of this drawing. A giclée print of it can be purchased there for $144.