The Pentecost

This large drawing of the Pentecost—the appearance of the Holy Spirit to Christ’s disciples after his Ascension, described in Chapter Two of the New Testament book Acts of the Apostles—exhibits the distinctive draftsmanship of the Master of the Egmont Albums, so named for a group of drawings in the Yale University Art Gallery formerly in the collection of John Percival, first Earl of Egmont (1683-1748). The densely packed composition and expressive figures—hallmarks of this artist's work—in combination with the intense contrast of light and dark achieved with a painterly application of ink, heighten the drama of the scene. A very similar drawing, with nearly the exact same dimensions, depicting Christ’s Resurrection was acquired in 2012 by the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris (inv. EBA 8429). The two works may have belonged to a larger Passion series.