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Secondary sourcePainting1851-1854

The Light of the World

William Holman Hunt · 1851-1854

William Holman Hunt's allegorical painting of Jesus knocking at a closed door, based on a verse from Revelation.

Depicts Jesus as a symbolic figure knocking at the door of the soul, an influential devotional image of him.

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Painting of a bearded, crowned figure in a long green robe and jeweled mantle, holding a lit lantern in his right hand and raising his left hand toward a closed wooden door overgrown with vines. Halo behind his head, dark trees and foliage around him.
William Holman Hunt, The Light of the World, 1851–1854. Keble College, Oxford.

About this source

What it is

This allegorical painting by the Pre-Raphaelite artist William Holman Hunt, painted 1851–1854, shows Jesus holding a lantern and knocking on an overgrown door that has no handle. It illustrates a verse from the Book of Revelation and now hangs in the chapel of Keble College, Oxford.

Why it matters

Hunt said he painted the picture feeling it was a divine command rather than just a good subject for art. The locked door, which can only be opened from inside, was meant to represent a closed mind refusing faith. The painting became one of the most widely reproduced religious images of the Victorian era, hung in homes, schools and churches, and later versions toured the world drawing huge crowds.

Look closer

  • Why do you think the artist left the door without a handle?
  • What might the lantern Jesus carries symbolize?
  • Why do you think this image became so popular with Victorian audiences?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Jesus Christ on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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