The Shadow of Death
William Holman Hunt · 1873
The story
The Shadow of Death is a religious painting by the English painter William Holman Hunt, on which he worked from 1870 to 1873, during his second trip to the Holy Land. It depicts Jesus as a young man prior to his ministry, working as a carpenter. He is shown stretching his arms after sawing wood. The shadow of his outstretched arms falls on a wooden spar on which carpentry tools hang, creating a "shadow of death" prefiguring the crucifixion. The arch of the window also creates a natural halo around the head of Christ. His mother Mary is depicted from behind, gazing up at the shadow, having been looking into a box in which she has kept the gifts given by the Magi.
- Artist
- William Holman Hunt
- Date
- 1873
- Collection
- Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester, United Kingdom
- Movement
- Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
- Medium
- oil paint, canvas
- Size
- 214.2 × 168.2 cm
Story adapted from the Wikipedia article and its contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons.
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