Easter Morning by He Qi

Easter Morning by He Qi

The following description is from "Bible Paintings: The Resurrection of Jesus Christ" at www.jesus-story.net:

He Qi is one of the most popular modern painters of religious themes. Here a triumphant angel announces that Christ has risen, conquering the demons of darkness who now flee from him. The women have not yet woken properly, and seem unaware of what has happened. They still mourn, but the angel is telling them that the time for grief is over.  Instead of the unfurled military-style banner often held by Christ in earlier paintings, He Qi's angel carries a luminous lily, sign of purity and peace.

Rev. Travis J. Scholl, editor of Concordia Journal, writes:

The more one encounters He Qi’s art, the more one encounters the creative tension between the vernacular and the universal, the local and the global, what Robert Brusic calls the “synthesis between artistic indigenization and proclamation.” He Qi’s pictorial vocabulary is thoroughly Chinese, but the message is nothing less than the Gospel itself. Again, Brusic: 

He Qi presents us with art that connects us to the biblical story in a fresh, even a surprising, way. He is both storyteller and evangelist in his art. He is not only preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, but he is also conveying a message that transcends cultural types. In seeking to de-westernize the Christian story, he is trying to open our eyes to the universal implications of the larger and all-encompassing narrative of God’s love for all creation. (Arts: The Arts in Religious and Theological Studies 9:3 (1997), p. 10) 

Milingimbi Easter panel

Milingimbi Easter panel, c.1965

From the National Gallery of Australia (link includes a video of the painting with the following spoken text, or click here):

Four Easter Story Paintings by Australian Aboriginal Artist Linda Naparula Walker

Australian Aboriginal artist Linda Naparula Walker is a Warlpiri woman from Yuendumu Community in Central Australia.  Her father taught her to paint when she was a teenager.  He told her all the stories she could paint and share through her art.  Linda would travel all over Australia with her father, helping him do his ‘dots’ as she learnt from him.  Her own paintings have been featured in group art shows in Australia and the U.S.  Some of Linda's other paintings can be seen here, here and here.

Have a Blessed Easter

Liberation From Fear of Death by P. Solomon Raj

"Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death."  Hebrews 2:14-15