“The Life of Christ” – Painting by Ayres Houghtelling
Posted on 04. Apr, 2010 by kchristieh in art, religion
Jesus fit a lot into the short time he ministered here on Earth, and Ayres Houghtelling did an excellent job of conveying the most important events in one painting, “The Life of Christ”. My grandparents had a print of “The Life of Christ” hanging in their home when I was growing up, and I loved it so much I found my own copy on Ebay a few years ago. I wish that my photo of the print did it more justice, because its incredible details draw you in as your eye follows key events in Christ’s life.
The Life of Christ by Ayres Houghtelling
Houghtelling called this technique of visualizing a series of events on one canvas an “art-told tale”, and it’s the same technique he used for the Alice in Wonderland painting I recently blogged about.
I found the article below from the Dec. 22, 1948 Norwalk (CT) Hour via Google’s impressive archives:
From the Norwalk (CT) Hour, Dec. 22, 1948
It explains that before even starting the painting, Houghtelling spent six months preparing himself mentally and spiritually, studying the New Testament and determining his concept of the characters and the continuity of the scene. The painting was ultimately praised by prominent religious leaders including Francis Cardinal Spellman, Archbishop of New York, who wrote that, “This beautiful picture evidences deep and reverent knowledge of the life and mission of the Saviour and inspires one to prayer and meditation.” Another article in the Google archives, from page 23 of the the , says that the original painting depicts Christ 46 times in a span of 40 ” x 30″. It was scheduled to be displayed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York later that Spring, and was featured in Collier’s magazine the following winter. The article said that his next project was slated to be a pictorial depiction of “Treasure Island.”
After I blogged about “Alice in Wonderland”, I was honored to hear from Houghtelling’s widow, Lydia Houghtelling. She says the following about “The Life of Christ”:
It was his first attempt at painting in an allegorical style and he thought that if he could paint the entire life of Christ in that style, then he could do anything. He spent a year on Marco Island (before it became a settled community), researching and painting it. It was viewed in the Crowell-Colliers Boardroom by Cardinal Francis Spellman who wrote a lovely letter commending the painting…After it was published, Ayres’ agent told him that the painting had perished in a warehouse fire….That was then…years later, when we had met and married, he decided to redo his Life of Christ ….and also painted another beautiful painting, Restaurare Omnia in Christo…representing the Renaissance of Christ.
Mrs. Houghtelling generously sent me some absolutely amazing cameo prints that her husband painted after the original “Alice in Wonderland” painting. I’ll share them with you in a later post.
Have a wonderful Easter, and I hope that you are inspired by this incredible painting.
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