This past week, my eye was drawn to a book – #TheRevelationOfSaintJohnTheDivine. It was published in 1946. The text comes from the #KingJamesBible but it was the illustrations which drew me to the book. The depiction of scenes in lithographic form from the book of Revelations. #HansFeibusch (1898-1998) was a painter and sculptor of Jewish heritage who was born in Frankfurt am Mein, Germany. He served/fought on the Russian front during WWI but fled to England in 1933 to avoid Nazi persecution.

Feibusch is best remembered for his murals most of which can be found in churches across England. He was commissioned some 40 times (30 times for CofE) to produce artworks for churches and also painted a number of secular works for friends and corporations. #ElyCathedral also commissioned Feibusch to produce a sculpture – Christus (found near the west entrance). The Revelation of Saint John the Divine is a book which depicts what is to come. It foretells the return of the Christ and the final judgement and destruction of evil, the devil, and mankind as well as the rescuing of the redeemed. It provides, for the artist, inspiration allowing them to imagine and then create visages of a great and terrible time.

The 15 lithographs ( including front cover) created by Feibusch are miniature versions of his large scale murals. His dramatic and vivid depictions are striking in their use of colour to emphasise the horrible visages.