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European and American Art

As a young man Boeckhorst was one of the numerous assistants in Rubens' studio and later worked with Rubens' pupil Jacob Jordaens. This painting, like much of his later work, shows the influence of still another Rubens pupil, Anthony van Dyck, in the slender, elegant figure of Christ.

The painting is a symbolic representation of the power and love of Christ. He holds the cross like a banner, while beneath his feet are a globe representing the earth, and a serpent and a skull, symbols of sin and death. With a welcoming gesture he recieves a group of men and women from the Bible who are famous for having sinned and then repented: King David, the Repentant Thief (kneeling on his cross in the foreground), Mary Magdalen, the Prodigal Son, and St. Peter (weeping in the background at the right).

At the left, behind David, are the Virgin Mary and St. John the Evangelist, who are often represented in scenes of Christ's crucifixion and who here share in his triumph.