A conference celebrating 150 years of Holman Hunt's painting at Keble College, Oxford

Holman Hunt’s The Light of the World is among the most influential religious works of art in existence and the single most widely exhibited work of art in history. It was seen by seven million people on a global tour in 1905-1907, which had a lasting effect on Christian culture and imagination internationally. Even today, the image remains instantly recognisable and familiar to many around the world.

The painting combines an arresting aesthetic with a direct spiritual appeal, at once immediate and yet mysterious. In its powerful visual exposition of a single verse of Scripture (Rev. 3:20), it draws the viewer in with its focus on the figure of Christ as at once powerful presence and humble petitioner, majestic and yet intimate and intensely personal.

This encounter is seen to occur within a strikingly luminous appreciation of the natural world (or what we might today call the Environment), addressing its sustaining fertile lushness as well as its autumnal decay and sometimes parasitic recalcitrance.

Celebrating the 150th anniversary of its donation to Keble College, Oxford, the conference will consider the history and interpretation of the painting while also asking what continued meaning it holds today.

Registration and refreshments are free and a sandwich lunch may be available for a modest contribution. Tentative schedule available here.