Introduction of Christianity into Britain: Christian Missionaries Interrupting a Human Sacrifice, from "Illustrated London News"

Engraver Henry Whitmore Cutts and Company British

After James Elder Christie British, Scottish

June 1, 1878

Not on view

Based on a painting by Christie now at the Paisley Museum and Art Gallery in Scotland, this image represents Catholic missionaries intervening in a Bardic rite of human sacrifice. An 1843 competition for frescoes to decorate the new Palace of Westminster had encouraged British artists to explore national history and Christie's imagery builds on that foundation, dramatically suggesting the obstacles that Christians of the late Roman period encountered as they sought to establish their faith to Britain. Exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1878, the painting was engraved in wood and published in "The Illustrated London News."

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Title: Introduction of Christianity into Britain: Christian Missionaries Interrupting a Human Sacrifice, from "Illustrated London News"
Engraver: Henry Whitmore Cutts and Company (British, active 1877–84)
Artist: After James Elder Christie (British, Guardbridge, Fife, Scotland 1847–1914)
Date: June 1, 1878
Medium: Wood engraving
Dimensions: Image: 8 1/4 × 10 11/16 in. (20.9 × 27.2 cm)
Sheet: 9 5/16 × 11 3/4 in. (23.6 × 29.8 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Gift of Donato Esposito, 2015
Object Number: 2015.653.8
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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