Christ Healing the Sick (The Hundred Guilder Print)

“Great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there,” Matthew 19:2

Rembrandt depicts Christ purifying souls and healing the sick by incorporating different scenes from chapter 19 of the Gospel of St. Matthew. The chiaroscuro effects divide the print into two sides of light and dark, adding depth and enhancing the position of Christ as a beacon of light. Rembrandt’s usage of shading draws visual attention to Christ’s powers as a physical and spiritual healer and challenges common conceptions of good and evil as they relate to light and darkness. The varying appearances and unembellished outlines show that each person has their own reason to see Christ. Here in the darkness is where true faith lies.

Belief and disbelief are present in the crowd, but Christ stands above them all. He is the center that draws together all—the sick on his right seeking to be cured and a skeptical group of Pharisees to his left. Invested with divine powers, Christ defies the boundaries of what is possible and socially accepted.