Roy de Maistre (1894-1968)
Oil on board
60 x 50 cm
1958
Methodist Modern Art Collection
DeM/1963
Image Copyright © Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes. The Methodist Church Registered Charity no. 1132208
Biblical commentary
Luke 24: 13–32
De Maistre shows Jesus, in a white gown, positioned centrally at the table with one of his disciples on the left and the other sitting at the side of the table. Jesus is breaking the bread and has an apple (or some other green fruit) in front of him. More fruit lie on a plate or bowl on the table. The disciples are portrayed just as recognition dawns on them that their companion is Jesus. The wounds, the nail hole in Jesus’ left hand and the wound of the spear in his side are clearly visible and confirm their realization. In 1959, the artist commented: ‘religion is not merely a subject for a painting but a perpetual reality which has preoccupied me ever since I remember and is inseparable for me from every other thought’.
Commentary based on A Guide to the Methodist Art Collection.