Carl Heinrich Bloch

Carl Bloch’s paintings of the life of Christ are among the most widely reproduced religious images today. They are clear, warm and direct: Christ healing, teaching or praying, painted with solid realism, strong light and deeply felt faces, in a way that owes much to Rembrandt.

Born in Copenhagen in 1834, he studied at the Royal Danish Academy under Wilhelm Marstrand, then spent 1859 to 1866 in Italy, where he moved from Danish everyday scenes to history painting. His Prometheus Unbound made his name in 1865. From 1865 to 1879 he painted 23 scenes from the life of Christ for the King’s Chapel at Frederiksborg Castle, the series that made him famous, and Danish critics came to call him the country’s greatest living artist. His religious paintings are used widely by churches today, especially the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He died in 1890.

In Casting out the Money Changers and Christ at Gethsemane, look at how strongly the light falls on Christ.