The Stoning of Stephen
Virgil Solis, 1565 · Acts 7:59
The passage
And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
Acts 7:59
About this woodcut
Four men are hauling stones over their heads. Stephen kneels among them, small, haloed, hands together, and above him the sky has opened: Christ stands in a burst of light with the rays coming down on him alone. A city wall and a tower sit at the left edge.
Acts says he looked up stedfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God. Solis draws the looking and the seeing in one frame, which no witness on the ground could have done. The stoners are not shown as monsters. They are workmen at a task, taking the weight of the stone properly before they throw.
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