One By One

by Al Young

One By One
The Messiah
11 x 17

One By One
The Messiah (detail)
8 x 10

One By One
The Messiah (detail)
5 x 7

One By One
Original Oil Painting

The Messiah

And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of praying unto the Father, he arose; but so great was the joy of the multitude that they were overcome. And it came to pass that Jesus spake unto them, and bade them arise. And they arose from the earth, and he said unto them: Blessed are ye because of your faith. And now behold, my joy is full. And when he had said these words, he wept, and the multitude bare record of it, and he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.

3 Nephi 17:18-21

The Story in the Painting

This painting is the third in a series of images focusing on the ministry of the resurrected Savior among the inhabitants of ancient America. The composition of the work continues the intimate perspective of images already created for the collection. One of the distinguishing characteristics of this series of images is the intensely personal focus of each composition. This derives from the artist's goal of giving the viewer something of the kind of experience that would surely have been the desire of everyone in the multitude that gathered to see, to hear, and to be blessed.

Many portrayals of the Savior's ancient American ministry put the multitude in the painting in such a way that the viewer is somewhere in the throng looking on, sometimes from a great distance. Such paintings provide important viewer experiences concerning the Savior's ministry. Paintings in this series, however, have thus far not only put the viewer in the multitude, but have sought to express the desire of both the Savior and the viewer to have an intensely personal experience notwithstanding the multitude. As a result, these paintings tend to focus on the sacredness and thus the privacy of the experiences that were part of His ministry.

We are also told that He took the children one by one, focusing His complete attention upon each infant. And while He had them in His keeping, He did two things: He blessed them and prayed for them.

Having blessed the children, why did He also pray for them? Perhaps the prayer was as much for the benefit of the parents as for the child; perhaps by praying for the children in the presence of their parents, He was teaching the parents how they ought to pray in behalf of their little ones.

Symbolism in the Painting

Q: How does the composition express the particular moment chosen for the subject?

A: The composition presents a particularly intimate view of the Redeemer. When He first spoke to the peoples of ancient America, as part of His personal ministry among them, they had suffered cataclysm for three days. Their distress was dreadful. They were as yet engulfed in the close and complete darkness that had not only settled over the land, but was so dense that no fire could be kindled nor any light seen.

The Savior—in word, in deed, in every way—dwells above the darkness. He is the light of the world. When He came to the inhabitants of ancient America, He brought that light with Him. In this painting, He looks toward those who dwell in darkness beneath the storm clouds at the bottom of the painting. His countenance is the countenance of peace. He takes no pleasure in the soul that suffers, nor in the misery of anyone who perishes. He searches for those who need the light and life He alone can give.

In all the moments of our travail in the darkness by which we are so often surrounded in this world, He alone fills the heaven of our hope. As we suffer, the expansiveness of our own horizon shrinks until it narrows almost to the snuffing point at which the wick of our souls expires. This is a painting not only of the moment during which His voice was heard by all the inhabitants of the land; it is the moment in any of our lives when hope is all but gone.

Q: What do you hope people will feel or understand as a result of looking at this painting?

A: If this painting is even a tiny step in anyone's effort to know Him better, it will have served the greatest good to be imagined. John the Beloved said it this way: “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent,” (John 17:3) which is the same declaration to be found in the words by which the Book of Mormon ends: “And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things” (Moroni 10:4-5).

The Messiah is the truth of all things.

Documentation

The panel is Masonite. Several gesso layers were applied directly to the panel. The gesso was manufactured by Utrecht Mfg. Corp., 6 Corporate Dr., Cranbury, New Jersey 08512 USA. Oil paints used in the creation of this painting include Rembrandt colors manufactured by Royal Talens, P.O. Box 4, Apeldoorn, Holland; M. Graham & Co., West Linn, Oregon 97068 USA; and Gamblin Artists Colors, PO Box 15009, Portland, Oregon 97293 USA. The medium used was Walnut Alkyd Medium, also manufactured by M. Graham & Co. The painting is coated with Cold Wax Medium (beeswax), also manufactured by Gamblin.