Jesus viser sig for apostelene 1460 - 1507

Hans Leu the Elder made this small panel painting of "Jesus Appears to the Apostles" around 1500, using tempera on paper. It shows a key moment in Christian belief, Jesus proving his resurrection. The image's power comes from a carefully constructed set of contrasts. The forward-leaning apostles are earthbound and doubting, reaching out to touch the wounds in Jesus's side, while Jesus himself is calm and bathed in heavenly light. Leu was Swiss, and this image reflects the religious culture of the late medieval period in central Europe, with its intense focus on the body of Christ and its suffering. But it also speaks to a moment of change. Artists like Leu were beginning to explore new ways of depicting space and emotion, influenced by Italian Renaissance art. To fully understand the painting's meaning, we might look at the history of religious painting, the rise of humanism, and the changing social role of art in this period. Each of these fields helps us to understand the painting as a product of its time, and a reflection of the artist's own social and intellectual world.