Peter Rogers - The ascension

Acts 1: 6–11

In the centre of the picture Jesus ascends in a whitish-gold cloud, his body already off the ground, arms raised upwards and his head thrust back, almost horizontally, in profile, in a style reminiscent of William Blake. On the left, the two men clad in white are standing in the embrace of a deep-red flame that descends from the heavens and curves beneath them, while on the right a group of disciples, undifferentiated except perhaps for Mary in a brown robe, gaze upwards as Jesus is lost to view within the cloud and ascends to heaven. This all takes place against a black and inky background with a faint glow on the horizon.

Commentary based on A Guide to the Methodist Art Collection.