The Sacrifice at Lystra n.d.

This pen and brown ink drawing, titled "The Sacrifice at Lystra," recounts a story from the Acts of the Apostles. It shows the Apostle Paul and Barnabas stopping a sacrifice in their honor by the local population. The drawing encapsulates the early clashes between cultures and beliefs. The would-be sacrificers, frozen mid-action, embody the tensions between their traditional practices and the new faith being introduced. We observe the crowd’s expressions that range from devout enthusiasm to abrupt confusion. It prompts questions about the imposition of foreign ideologies onto indigenous populations. Notice the emotional heart of the scene. There is an ax-wielding man, arrested mid-swing, embodying the raw energy of halted devotion, while Paul and Barnabas recoil, torn between humility and divine purpose. This work leaves us contemplating the complexities of cultural exchange and the personal dramas inherent in the meeting of different world views.