Christ Cures the Lunatic Child 1891

Axel Helsted made this painting, titled "Christ Cures the Lunatic Child," using oil paints on canvas. We can clearly see the artist's labor and technique across the entire surface. Oil painting during Helsted's time, in the late 19th century, was far removed from the world of craft. At this time, paint could be commercially manufactured, applied with mass-produced brushes, and stretched on machine-made canvas. While it is unclear if Helsted availed himself of these industrial advances, what matters is that he labored over every inch of the canvas, creating areas of great textural density, especially within the crowd gathered behind Christ. Yet this painterly approach is deployed in service to a conservative composition. Religious scenes such as this were a well-worn trope at the time, and Helsted's take on it demonstrates a conscious association with established traditions of painting. It is in the material transformation of simple oil paint where the artist can make his mark, so to speak, while still participating in well established aesthetic conventions.