"The Light of the World"

here is then a clear sense in which Hunt's paintings were much more than material constructions; they were moral parables too. Here for instance we see a manipulation of light in the picture that is in keeping with the idea that only a faith in Christ can deliver the sinner from darkness. In keeping with his fine sable brush technique, and the admixture of varnish and oil paints, many technical aspects of Hunt's work took on "the quality of glass" and in so doing enhanced the sense that the image is being viewed through a window rather than on a plane. This is especially true of The Light of the World which almost appears to glow (though that effect is hard to replicate through reproduction).