"Christ Appearing to Mary"

When Ryder painted Christian subjects, his figures were typically much larger than in his other works, where nature tended to dwarf the human elements.

Ryder asked one of his friends to model for the figure of Jesus, but his friend felt that because he was stout and muscular  the figure would look rather too healthy for a man that had been in the grave three days. Ryder was unconcerned, replying that the painting of Jesus should show power as well as spirituality.