The Lord of the Sabbath, 1861. Etching on steel in black ink on paper, 45/16 x 65/8 inches (11 x 16.9 cm) – image size. Private collection. Click on image to enlarge it.
The Lord of the Sabbath refers to a passage in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 12, when Jesus offers his disciples ears of corn to eat on the Sabbath. Smetham depicts an English looking landscape of a wheatfield, but with the figures in the loose robes of Biblical times. A mother in the foreground with her son points to Jesus walking through the wheat-field, followed by his disciples plucking heads of wheat. One of the disciples points to birds, but rather than starlings or crows Smetham adds a final flourish of a flock of doves hovering and descending on the crop.
Last modified 24 March 2022