ANTONIO ROSSELLINO [ATTRIB.] The Virgin with the laughing Child, After 1460, Terracotta, 49 x 27 x 24.5 cm, The Victoria and Albert Museum, London; 4495-1858, ©️ Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Mary is a happy young mother, who looks at her child with an easy smile on her face, and Jesus is a giggling, jolly infant.

Yet, the carefree laughter that unites the two figures is a window that opens onto the widest theological horizon.

Click here to find out more:

thevcs.org/birth-issac-...

NICHOLAS OF VERDUN The Birth of Isaac (detail), from the Verdun Altar, c.1181, Champlevé enamel, St. Leopold’s Chapel, Stift Klosterneuberg; Peter Böttcher, IMAREAL, Universität Salzburg

When Nicholas of Verdun represented the birth of Isaac in the monumental twelfth-century Verdun Altar, he re-imagined laughter as a blessing, the sign of God’s fidelity to his covenant.

Take a closer look in our exhibition on Genesis 21:1–7:

thevcs.org/birth-issac-...

CORITA KENT the dark, 1983, Serigraph, 178 x 127 mm, Corita Art Center, Los Angeles; 83-21, ©️ 2025 Corita Art Center, Corita.org, Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

As stated in John’s Gospel, ‘the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it’.

Read about artist–activist–nun Corita Kent's 'the dark' in this week's exhibition:

thevcs.org/god-light#da...

GARRY FABIAN MILLER Exposure (five hours of light) 1 July 2005 (assigned by artist), 2005, Nine dye destruction prints, tiled to form one image, 160 x 190 cm, The Victoria & Albert Museum, London; Gift of Garry Fabian Miller, E.326-2018, ©️ Garry Fabian Miller / Victoria and Albert Museum, London

'Exposure (five hours of light)' is a mesmerising vision of incandescent pixels materialising a striking display of light and dark-motifs which weave through the first letter of John.

Click here to read about Garry Fabian Miller's unorthodox photograph:

thevcs.org/god-light#ex...

⛪

ROBIN TANNER A Tithe Barn (Wiltshire Barn), 1926, Etching, 170 x 127 mm (plate), The Asmolean Museum, Oxford; Presented by Robin Tanner, the artist, 1981, WA1981.55, ©️ Crafts Study Centre, University for the Creative Arts, courtesy Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology

Robin Tanner's etching 'The Tithe Barn' captures the gloomy cavernous interior of a humble Wiltshire outbuilding reminiscent of the underbelly of an inverted ship’s hull.

Curious how it speaks to 1 John 1:1–2:11? Visit our exhibition 'God is Light':

thevcs.org/god-light#pl...

UNKNOWN THURINGIAN ARTIST Altar of the Resurrection from Arnstadt, c.1430, Tempera and gold on fir wood, 143 x 90,5 cm (left wing), Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin; Purchased before 1922 by Lina Stier, Hanover, 2005, Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin / Property of Kaiser Friedrich Museumsverein / Jörg P. Anders; Public Domain Mark 1.0

The Altar of the Resurrection from Arnstadt depicts an unusual iconography of the resurrection, with a full cast of characters that includes Peter and Paul, a group of soon-to-be-inspirited apostles, and the Virgin Mary leading the three other Marys to Christ’s tomb:

thevcs.org/resurrection...

BRAMANTINO detail of 'The Risen Christ', c.1490, Mixed media on panel, 109 x 73 cm, Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid; Inv. no. 61 (1937.1), ©️ Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid

Bramantino's 'Risen Christ' is among the most arresting depictions of this subject.

Jesus’s skin is perhaps not pale with death but rather luminous, giving off a light from within.

Find out more in our exhibition 'Resurrection Appearances':

thevcs.org/resurrection...

Luke 24:36–49; John 20:19–23 Resurrection Appearances Commentaries by Victoria Emily Jones Works of art by Bramantino, Jyoti Sahi and Unknown Thuringian artist

Our exhibition of the week takes a look at the Resurrected Christ in #Luke 24:36–49 and #John 20:19–23.

It features works of art by Bramantino and Jyoti Sahi, plus a 15th-century triptych from the Thuringian city of Arnstadt.

Curious? Click here to find out more:

thevcs.org/resurrection...

Matthew 26:26–29; Mark 14:22–25; Luke 22:15–20 The Last Supper Commentaries by Ben Quash, Jennifer Sliwka and Michelle Fletcher Works of art by Ercole de’ Roberti, Leonardo da Vinci and Sadao Watanabe

We've specially selected commentaries and works of art for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday:

Click on the links to find out more:

thevcs.org/last-supper

thevcs.org/going-jerusa...

thevcs.org/christ-hymn#...

thevcs.org/where-angels...

Community | Lent 2026 PIETER DE HOOCH Woman lacing her bodice beside a cradle, c.1660–63, Oil on canvas, 92 x 100 cm, Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin; No. 820b, Berlin State Museums, Gemäldegalerie / Christoph Schmidt

Pieter de Hooch’s calm domestic scene can illuminate what it might look like to live faithfully in joyful anticipation.

We end our Lenten series on 'Community' with a reflection on #Revelation 22.

Click on the link to read or listen to Clementine Kane's commentary:

thevcs.org/paradise-res...

MARC CHAGALL Yellow Crucifixion, 1942, Oil on canvas, 140 x 101 cm, Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; AM 1988-74, © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris, Photo: © CNAC / MNAM / Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY

1 Peter addressed converts from paganism, ostracised by family and taunted by neighbours for their association with the Jewish Jesus of Nazareth. Yet by Marc Chagall’s time, the tables have dramatically turned.

Find out more in our second-to-last Lenten commentary:

thevcs.org/finding-mean...

EMMANUEL GARIBAY Emmaus, 2012, Oil on canvas, 91 x 91 cm, Private Collection; © Emmanuel Garibay

Filipino artist Emmanuel Garibay paints not a church or holy place, but somewhere where ordinary people gather, have simple food, and drink beer. His Christ is female and—perhaps as shockingly—has dark skin.

Read our twelfth Lenten commentary on the theme of #Community:

thevcs.org/heirs-accord...

LOUISE BOURGEOIS Give or Take, 2002, Bronze with silver nitrate patina, 8.6 x 59.6 x 12.7 cm, Tate; AL00343, © 2021 The Easton Foundation / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY; Photo: © Tate, London / Art Resource, NY

There is strength in diversity, Paul tells us: ‘If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?’

Click here to take a closer look at Louise Bourgeois' 'Give or Take':

thevcs.org/you-are-body...

ANGU WALTERS The Evening Prayer II, 21st century, Oil on canvas, 100 x 78 cm, Collection of the artist; Courtesy of Angu Walters, Cameroon

Our Lenten theme is #Community.

Against a backdrop of violent civil war, Cameroonian artist Angu Walters's paintings tend to focus upon music, family life, and village scenes.

Find out mote in our exhibition on Acts of the Apostles 19:

thevcs.org/search-authe...

SONYA CLARK Many, 2019, Woven cloth, 9.14 x 4.57 m; ©️ Sonya Clark; Photo: Carlos Avendaño

What happens when what a flag represents isn't shared at all? When a flag perpetuates a story that needs to change?

Read our ninth Lenten commentary about 'Community':

thevcs.org/peter-house-...

JOHANN VALENTIN HAIDT Erstlingsbild, 1747, Oil on canvas, Museum Het Hernhutter Huis, Zeist; Courtesy Het Hernhutter Huis

The first Protestant missionaries to set out from Germany commissioned an astonishing painting: Johann Valentin Haidt's 'Erstlingsbild'.

However, there is also something disturbing about this work.

Find out more in our eighth Lenten commentary:

thevcs.org/great-commis...

Click on the links below to catch up with seven Lent Stations shared so far:

1. thevcs.org/adams-curse#...

2. thevcs.org/jacob-and-es...

3. thevcs.org/cities-refug...

4. thevcs.org/samsons-annu...

5. thevcs.org/one#even-unity

6. thevcs.org/suffering-se...

7. thevcs.org/rich-fool#th...

Have you been enjoying our Lenten artworks and commentaries?

These Lenten reflections from The Visual Commentary on Scripture are evocative. The seventh station posted today features commentary by @dgowler.bsky.social

JAMES B. JANKNEGT Rich Fool, 2007, Oil on canvas, 76.2 x 101.6 cm; Courtesy of James B. Janknegt

For the 'Rich Fool', what remains worthy of preservation is the community found in the humble house painted by James B. Janknegt.

Take a closer look at our seventh Lenten station:

thevcs.org/rich-fool#th...

MON VAN GENECHTEN Suffering China, 1943, Ink and colour on silk, 200 x 310 cm, Town Hall, Geel, Belgium; Photo collection Stadsarchief Geel

Combining his own personal experience and observation in China with the theme of 'Christ carrying the Cross', Belgian missionary painter Mon van Genechten portrayed a community of suffering.

Find out more in today's Lenten commentary:

thevcs.org/suffering-se...

AUGUSTE RODIN The Burghers of Calais, 1884–95, Bronze, 219.5 x 266 x 211.5 cm, Place du Soldat Inconnu, Calais; Photo Provider Network / Alamy Stock Photo

The first verse of Psalm 133 is often translated ‘How good and pleasant it is when kindred dwell together in unity’.

In Rodin’s sculpture, no single figure is elevated or given more prominence than another.

Read our fifth Lenten commentary here:

thevcs.org/one#even-unity

DAVID BEST Temple, Derry/Londonderry, Ireland, 2015, Mixed media, Produced by Artichoke in Derry, Londonderry; Destroyed 2015, Photo by Matthew Andrews

David Best’s 'Temple' in Derry-Londonderry was sited on a contested piece of land in one of the areas most divided and damaged by Northern Ireland’s ‘Troubles’; all too familiar with flames.

Click here to read our fourth Lenten commentary on 'Community':

thevcs.org/samsons-annu...

AI WEIWEI Arch, from the series 'Good Fences Make Good Neighbors', 2017, Galvanized mild steel and mirror polished stainless steel, Washington Square Arch, Washington Square Park, Manhattan; © Ai Weiwei. Photo: Ed Rooney / Alamy Stock Photo

The immersive symbolism of Ai Weiwei’s ‘Good Fences Make Good Neighbors’ embodies the complexity of the hospitality inherent within the sanctuary practices of the cities of refuge.

Click here to read our third Lenten commentary on the theme of Community:

thevcs.org/cities-refug...

ALICE NEEL The Soyer Brothers, 1973, Oil on canvas, 152.2 x 117.3 cm, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Purchase, with funds from Arthur M. Bullowa, Sydney Duffy, Stewart R. Mott and Edward Rosenthal, 74.77, ©️ The Estate of Alice Neel. Courtesy The Estate of Alice Neel and David Zwirner, Digital image ©️ Whitney Museum of American Art / Licensed by Scala / Art Resource, NY

Like the reunion of Jacob and Esau in Genesis, Alice Neel’s portrayal of the Soyer Brothers reminds us that while familial relationships are often those that are most important to us, they can also be the most complicated relationships.

Read our second Lenten commentary:

thevcs.org/jacob-and-es...

VINCENT VAN GOGH The Potato Eaters, 1885, Oil on canvas, 82 x 114 cm, The Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam; s0005V1962, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands / Bridgeman Images

On #AshWednesday, we begin our Lenten look at 'Community' with Vincent van Gogh's Potato Eaters, in light of Genesis 3.

Ben Quash writes that the young couple on the left '... must live as Adam and Eve had to live when they lost the bounty of paradise.' Take a look here:

thevcs.org/adams-curse#...

Pieter de Hooch, Woman lacing her bodice beside a cradle (detail), c.1660–63, Oil on canvas, 92 x 100 cm, Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin; No. 820b, Berlin State Museums, Gemäldegalerie / Christoph Schmidt

For the season of #Lent commencing on Ash Wednesday, we will be sharing 14 artworks and commentaries on the theme of #Community, something as urgently needed as ever in a fractured world.⁣
⁣
Subscribe to our Exhibition of the Week to receive our Lent emails twice a week:

thevcs.org/sign-vcs-ema...

UNKNOWN PERSIAN ARTIST Carpet, 18th century, Wool knotted pile on cotton warp and wool weft, 268 x 383.5 cm, The Victoria and Albert Museum, London; T.10-1924, ©️ Victoria and Albert Museum, London

What does this 18th-century Persian carpet tell us about the book of Genesis?

Find out more in our exhibition of the week:

thevcs.org/garden-eden#...

HIERONYMOUS BOSCH The Garden of Earthly Delights Triptych, 1490–1500, Oil on oak panel, Height: 185.8 cm; Width of the central panel: 172.5 cm; Width of the wing: 76.5 cm, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid; Album / Art Resource, NY; Photo: ©️ Museo Nacional del Prado / Art Resource, NY

We continue our exploration of Genesis 2 with one of its most iconic and puzzling depictions.

Reading the famous triptych from left to right, Hieronymus Bosch depicts the Garden of Eden, the Garden of Earthly Delights, and finally Hell.

Click here to take a closer look:

thevcs.org/garden-eden#...