By Jenica Stimpson
The painting “Christ Healing the Sick at Bethesda” by Carl Heinrich Bloch is a highlight to patrons at the BYU Museum of Art.
Up until August 2001, this painting resided at the Bethesda Indre Mission Church in Copenhagen, Denmark, where it has hung since 1883.
The sheer size of this painting is awe-inspiring, and equally remarkable is the fact that this painting left its home in a Denmark chapel to become a part of the permanent collection at BYU.
Campbell Gray, Museum of Art director, moved to the U.S. more than 10 years ago to help establish the Museum of Art. When he heard the Denmark chapel was in need of renovation and that it would no longer be used for religious purposes, Gray began a negotiation with Danish authorities to purchase the painting. Eventually, a price was agreed upon and two donors traveled to Denmark with Gray to purchase this original painting.
Shipping the large painting was difficult and had to be done carefully. The painting had not been moved from its place on the mantle at the church in more than 100 years.
“Christ Healing the Sick at Bethesda” arrived in the U.S. on Sept. 10, 2001, a day before the terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C. If the painting had arrived one day later, it may have been stored in a warehouse for months while security was sorted out, which could have resulted in damage to the painting.
The painting affects people in different ways and has a significant role in the way many depict Christ.
“It appears that there is only one other individual who notices the great miracles performed by the Son of God,” said Johnny Barnes, bishop of the BYU 45th ward, referring to the painting. “It assures me that He shows compassion for that person”s sake, not for the world”s sake or to be noticed.
“It is like the true meaning of giving when the gift is received without knowing who it is from. It is like the giver who does not want to be known,”
Bloch”s painting is familiar to LDS church members because it has been published in the “Ensign” multiple times. His paintings are often reproduced and displayed in church manuals, Relief Society rooms and as supplements to lessons.
Patrons of the Museum of Art can see the painting Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturdays from noon to 5 p.m.
