Jesus Washing the Feet, Christian Wall Art

What is painted

The room is plain whitewashed stone, lit by sun from a small high window that looks out on a cypress. In a niche in the wall stands a clay jar with a sprig of olive. A disciple sits on a wooden bench draped with a striped blanket, one bare foot set in a wide wooden bowl. Jesus kneels on the floor in front of him, a cream robe belted with cord and a rust mantle slipping from his shoulders, his head bent low over the man's foot.

The palette is soft and warm, with sand, ochre, rust and bone white, and the painting has the gentle texture of oil on paper. No words are printed on it.

What happened in the upper room

The scene is told only in John 13. During supper on the night before the crucifixion, Jesus rises from the table, lays aside his garments, takes a towel and girds himself. He pours water into a basin and begins to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel. In a land of dusty roads and sandals, this was a servant's task.

Peter refuses at first: “Thou shalt never wash my feet.” Jesus answers, “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me”, and Peter swings to the other extreme and asks for his hands and head too. Afterward Jesus explains the act: “If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet” (John 13:14).

A few verses later he gives the new commandment to love one another (John 13:34). The Latin word for commandment, mandatum, is where the name Maundy Thursday comes from, and many churches, Catholic and Protestant, still wash feet in the Holy Thursday service.

For a pastor, a deacon, a servant heart

Because the painting is about service, it is often given to pastors, deacons, nurses, caregivers and anyone who spends their life kneeling for others, figuratively or not. It is at home in a church office, a study or a quiet hallway, and it makes a thoughtful ordination or retirement gift. As religious wall art for Lent and Holy Week it also suits a prayer corner.

This Christian poster is printed to order in the US on thick matte archival paper, ships free within the country and arrives unframed with a white margin around the image. Available from 5x7 to 24x36, in A and metric sizes, or as a digital file.