Christ and the Rich Young Ruler by Heinrich Hofmann, Mark 10:17-29, Bible.Gallery
Artwork Description
This painting illustrates a story from Mark 10:17-22 where a wealthy young man approaches Jesus and asks Him what he must do to inherit eternal life. Christ gestures toward an impoverished woman and man and invites the man to sell all he has, give it to the poor, and follow Him. The young man is richly dressed with refined features, testifying of his life of wealth and ease. The contrast between rich and poor, pleasure and misery, spiritual and worldly is paramount in this painting.
However, it is the detail of the sympathetic head of Christ that has captured the imagination of millions of Christian viewers. It has been reproduced perhaps more than any other image of the Savior. The success of many of Hofmann’s paintings is his ability to offer such empathetic emotion in his figures. Hofmann successfully portrays a mixture of regret and compassion, capturing the great love of the Savior as He invites the young man to sacrifice personal desires to follow Him.