Light of the World, Holman Hunt (Giclee Print)

The Light of the World 1851-6 William Holman Hunt 1827-1910 The starting point for this picture is a passage from the Bible, "Behold I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him..." The door Christ is knocking at is that of the human soul, whose entrance is choked with weeds. Hunt painted much of it during the night, outdoors in the moonlight, to make it a convincing nocturnal scene but he wanted the figure of Christ to look supernatural. He plays with the different sources of light, the halo, the lantern and the symbolic light of dawn to suggest Christ brings light into a darkened world.