Christ’s Feet

Some of the Ascension pictures are actually quite amusing!

See, artists really wanted to convey that Christ was going upward to Heaven. But, of course, they didn’t have graphics to depict this motion. So, how did they do that?

Some artists put lots of angels everywhere. And by lots, I mean you would get dizzy trying to count how many there are.

Other artists put Christ at the very utmost top. Which, let me tell you, this might be a great thing for artists to do to convey the gloriousness of the moment, but it’s making it very hard to finish up my book about the Glorious Mysteries! (Don’t worry… I just completed the second edit of that book, meaning it will be here in a bit… stay tuned!)

But! Other artists did a different approach. For instance, take a look at this artwork!

The Ascension of Christ, by Hans Süss von Kulmbach, c. 1513. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Via IllustratedPrayer.com
The Ascension of Christ, by Hans Süss von Kulmbach, c. 1513. Metropolitan Museum of Art.

…it’s Christ’s Feet!

I saw this picture and I adored it. For one, the panel that it’s painted on is pinewood and you can literally see the grains of wood underneath the paint, which gives it a pretty cool effect. For another… feet! The artist is so focused on reminding us that Christ is going to Heaven that all you can see is a bit of the fancy robe and… Christ’s feet!

What can I say? Seeing that picture delighted me! So, I put it in the first draft of my book, The Glorious Mysteries, which is in the format of my other books… which you can take a peek at here, if you would like!

However! When the first proof copy (that is, the copy that I get to look at to make sure that everything looks nice) came to me, my husband was less than impressed with the feet.

“It’s weird,” he said.

Discouraged, I made a mental note that perhaps it wasn’t the greatest picture to have and maybe I should put another picture in. And then I put the book aside to do all the other five million things that I have to do in the regular course of life.

But then, as I was doing something else, my three-year-old daughter sat next to me and flipped through the book, since it was right next to me.

Now, you have to realize that when I started making these books, I did it first and foremost to share my faith with my children. After all, they are very little! (When I started this project, I had two children that were two and under, and now I have three children that are three and under!) Saying a Rosary with them meant that someone was going to end up destroying a rosary. So, I made these books for them, since they love picture books and it seemed like a beautiful way to share our faith!

So, as you can imagine, her opinion is very valuable to me!

And, oh man. She’s a funny little girl. I told you the story already where she went through all the pictures of the Ascension, telling the disciples to get back to work whenever she saw an angel. But, when she saw this picture of the Ascension, she burst into giggles. “Feet!” she cried, laughing. “It’s feet!”

“Yes,” I said, giggling with her, since her laughter is contagious. “Jesus is going up to Heaven, and all you can see is His Feet!”

And she thought that was the Best. Thing. Ever.

So, when going through my book once more, I decided to keep it. After all, it might be weird but… who could argue with effective evangelization? 🙂

Anyway! If you’re curious about the books, they pair every prayer of the Rosary with religious artwork, and they’re really pretty. Take a look at the books here, if you’re interested! The proceeds help my little family out. 🙂

Karina Tabone

Karina Tabone is a wife, mother of four, author, blogger, and lover of Christian artwork. She's the author of the Illustrated Rosary series, which pairs every prayer of the Rosary with beautiful religious artwork. She likes also milkshakes, sunshine, and mystery novels. Follow her on Twitter at @illustr_prayer.

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