a visit with jesus

 Bible Art

Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
Artist: Jan van Hemessen
 1548-1552    Painting

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Hemessen’s figures fill the foreground of the painting, and their expressive faces and animated gestures create an arresting effect. On the left the king raises an accusing finger toward the servant, who sits anxiously on the right with his hands intertwined. Between them sit two men, one carefully counting coins and the other looking up at the king before making a note in his ledger. As the servant’s initial fate is decided, a window gives onto a view of the concluding scene of the story, in which he gets his just reward.
There is some evidence that this painting was made for the office of a municipal tax collector in northern Holland—an appropriate location to ponder the lessons of the parable.

This painting is oil on panel and measures 39 3/8 in. x 5 ft. 8 1/4 in. x 2 1/4 in.

Parable of the Wedding Guests
Artist: Bernardo Strozzi
 1636    Painting

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The Parable of the Wedding Guests  is based upon Matthew 22:1–14. This is part of a larger canvas painted by Bernardo Strozzi in about 1636 for the church of the Ospedale degli Incurabili in Venice and was part of the decoration for the ceiling together with the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins by Padovanino (ca. 1644), which also belongs to the Gallerie dell’Accademia