Jesus Breaking Bread, Christian Wall Art

What is painted

Jesus sits behind a weathered wooden table under the branches of an olive tree, wearing a cream robe with a deep red mantle over one shoulder. He looks down at the round loaf he is breaking in two, crumbs falling onto the boards, with a calm, almost amused expression.

The table is set simply: a bowl of dark grapes beside a sprig of olive leaves, a smaller dish of green and purple olives, a bundle of ripe wheat, and a speckled clay jug on the right. A linen runner with faded red stripes hangs over the front edge. Behind him a low stone wall opens onto a valley of cypress trees and pale houses, with the setting sun throwing long rays across the sky.

The painting is done in a rich impressionist oil manner and covers the print completely, out to every edge. No text is printed on it.

Known in the breaking of bread

On the evening of the resurrection, two disciples walk to Emmaus with a stranger they do not recognize. They invite him to stay because the day is far spent. Then, Luke writes, “as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them” (Luke 24:30). In that gesture their eyes are opened and they know it is Jesus.

The same movement of blessing and breaking appears when Jesus feeds the five thousand with five loaves and two fish (Matthew 14:19), and again at the Last Supper. In the Gospels, bread broken and shared is where people meet him.

For the dining room and Thanksgiving

Hang it where meals happen: above a sideboard, at the end of a farmhouse table, or in a kitchen breakfast nook. With its harvest tones of amber, wine red and olive green, it fits naturally into fall decor and makes a meaningful host present for Thanksgiving, which falls on November 26 this year. It also suits a newly married couple, a family that says grace together, or a pastor celebrating communion.

Prints are giclée on heavyweight archival matte paper, produced on demand in the US and shipped free within the United States. They arrive unframed, in sizes from 5x7 up to 24x36 inches, along with metric and A sizes. A digital file is also offered.