This drawing of the Resurrection is the first of the large New Testament illustrations that I have completed for the Summula Pictoria. Its composition is a traditional one that was established in the 13th century. Jesus Christ emerges from the tomb as the guards continue to sleep. Displaying His wounds, he steps over the stone with His right foot, raising His right hand (which represents Mercy) in blessing and holding a triumphal banner in His left. He wears a cloth tied around His waist; this is sometimes white, and sometimes (as here) red.
I drew the figure of Jesus with more foreshortening than I usually use in my art, so that His hand and foot seem to extend forward from the page. Because He now has a glorified body, I drew a halo surrounding His entire outline; the halo emits rays in all directions, to indicate that His face shines like the sun.
The pattern on Jesus’s garment includes the Paschal Lamb, as well as pelicans and lions, which are traditional symbols of the Resurrection. These creatures were once believed to revive their own offspring from death.
The triumphal banner bears the words Rex, meaning King, and Resurrexit, meaning He is risen. The latter words is in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, the three languages of the titulus, which together symbolize all the languages of the world.
Medieval depictions of the Resurrection often combine two events that actually happened at different times: Christ emerging from the tomb, and the stone being moved aside. This is not a mistake, but an illustration of patristic exegesis. According to the Church Fathers, the stone before the tomb represents the Old Testament and the Law of Moses. I have made this clear by showing the stone inscribed with the first two verses of the fourth chapter of Deuteronomy, followed by the Commandments: And now, O Israel, hear the commandments and judgments which I teach thee: that doing them, thou mayst live, and entering in mayst possess the land which the Lord the God of your fathers will give you. You shall not add to the word that I speak to you, neither shall you take away from it: keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage…
The plants surrounding the tomb include heliotropes, morning glories, dandelions, and sunflowers, all of which are miraculously blooming in the middle of the night, in acknowledgement of the rising of Jesus Christ, the Sun of Justice.
Before the tomb are several cabbages. This shows that the Resurrection happened in a garden, and refers also to an ancient anti-Christian polemic refuted by Tertullian. This polemic claimed that the dead body of Jesus was actually removed by a gardener, who did not want curious crowds coming to see it, and trampling his cabbages. While I certainly disbelieve this claim, I like to imagine that Jesus showed concern for the man who kept the garden, and that when He appeared as a gardener to Mary Magdalen, He was busy miraculously healing the damaged vegetables.
Since Easter Sunday follows the full moon, the moon in my drawing is just beginning to wane. In it appears the city of Jericho, which is named for the moon and, according to Augustine, symbolizes (in the parable of the Good Samaritan) the fallen world of mortality.
I used the translucent calfskin for artistic effect, drawing the inscription of the stone, the pattern on the cloth, the city of Jericho in the moon, and fossils in some of the rocks on the reverse side. These appear more or less distinct depending on how much light is shining through the drawing.
Medium: Drawing, color ink on calfskin vellum
Dimensions: 12" × ~15"
Year: 2024
Open-edition giclée prints of this drawing are available. You may use the buttons below to pay via PayPal, debit card, or credit card. Be sure to confirm the shipping address.
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Actual size art print: $160
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24" × 30" large print: $320
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200dpi digital download: $32
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See this page for additional ordering instructions and general information. If you want to pay via a check or money order, please e-mail me at danielmitsuiartist@gmail.com.
