Untitled (Matthäus 25,1)
2005
Watercolour on paper
37,5 x 27,5 cm

For the viewer of the picture, the ascending line with its characteristic turning point dominates. The dark figures coming from below become bearers of light, walking towards the light that floods everything.

The artist did not understand the parable primarily as a programme of contrasts, as is often the case with groups of figures in medieval church portals: Here the foolish, here the wise virgins, without connection to each other, without a bridge from one to the other. For me, the image accentuates the message of the parable differently. It is not about an either-or, but about a path from here to there. It is as if the figures rising from below are given the chance to continue on the path, admittedly at the price of a radical reorientation.

The image immediately evokes in me the memory of the political turnaround in the east of our country almost 20 years ago. The overthrow of the balance of power was indeed a drastic reversal that turned ingrained behaviour and customs upside down in many areas of life. Not everyone has made the turn in their minds and hearts!

Does the contemplation of the picture help us? The first of the light bearers is already standing in the bend, strikingly changing the parallelism of the figures. Is she still looking at those who are pushing out of the darkness? Is her changed direction of vision towards another above, the abundance of light in the upper left half of the picture, an invitation to dare the ‘turn’?

This artistic interpretation of the old picture story breathes anthropological optimism. Or should I say: Christian hope? Even those who are now still wandering in the dark can turn to the light and thus become bearers of light.

Text by Joachim Wanke