Jesus Washing Feet, Christian Wall Art

What is painted

In a small room with rough stone walls, Jesus kneels in a crumpled cream robe, a striped white towel slung over his shoulder. He bends over a gleaming copper basin and holds the bare foot of a disciple in both hands, water running between his fingers and splashing back into the bowl. His eyes are lowered and his face is calm.

The disciple, an older bearded man in a coarse green-brown robe, sits on a wooden bench and looks down at him in silence. Behind them a table holds an oil lamp with a single flame, a clay jug and a bowl. A large earthen jar stands in the left foreground, a folded cloth lies on the floor, and a woven mat edges in at the lower right. Warm amber light glows on the wet flagstones. The scene is painted in the rich, broken strokes of an oil impressionist canvas, fills the page entirely, and has no words on it.

The basin and the towel

John 13:1-17 sets the scene at supper before the Passover feast. Jesus rises from the table, lays aside his garments, takes a towel and ties it around himself. Then, as verse 5 puts it, “he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.”

Peter protests, “Thou shalt never wash my feet.” Jesus answers, “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me,” and Peter asks him to wash his hands and his head as well. Afterward Jesus sits down again and explains: “If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.” Many churches remember this on Maundy Thursday with their own foot washing service.

For those who serve

This is a picture of leadership turned upside down, and it makes a heartfelt gift for a pastor during Pastor Appreciation Month in October, for a deacon, a nurse, a caregiver, or volunteers who quietly keep a ministry running. Hang it in a church office, a fellowship hall, a hospital chapel or a dining room at home.

Your print is made as a giclée on thick archival matte paper, printed on demand in the United States, and shipped free to US addresses. It comes unframed, with the artwork bleeding right off every edge. Sizes start at 5x7 and go up to 24x36 inches, with metric and A sizes as well, and there is also an option for a digital file.