The Four Holy Gospels

The artist Makoto Fujimura is quite a favorite of ours. We first featured him in It Was Good. Then he was interviewed (twice) in our book Objects of Grace. And just recently we did a small book showcasing his art alongside the paintings of Georges Rouault.

But enough about us.

This post is to let you know that Mako has recently partnered with Crossway to create a an illuminated harmony of the Gospels to celebrate the KJV's 400th anniversary. It is easy to imagine how lovely the book would be, based on the reproductions of his paintings in our Square Halo titles, but to see it in your hands is breath taking. It is like holding a new Book of Kells. It is a joy to page through and discover the decorated caps at the beginning of chapters, the marginalia gracefully littering the pages, and of course, the full paintings. My favorite of the larger works was the piece that begins the gospel according to John called In the Beginning.

Mako's art is what I'd call semi-abstract because he often brings in visual elements that the viewer recognizes—like a tree, or a fish, or a flower, etc. This made it especially delightful to page through The Four Holy Gospels. The marginalia is a combination of representational and abstract paintings. The art draws you in, making you want to discover what aspect of the text Mako is bringing out visually. There were so many of these "incidental" pieces that captured my imagination, but I was especially pleased to see the last page, where Mako had painted a blood-stained tree reminiscent of the Shalom lithograph that hangs in our home.

This amazing new book looks lovely displayed on a bookshelf, but it resists becoming merely a decoration. Seeing it makes you want to come up with reasons to take it down and read it (when my eldest daughter saw this book she commented on it by saying, "THAT'S what it should be like to read the Bible").

So I urge you, if you are able, get a copy of The Four Holy Gospels. When you read it your heart and your mind will be changed as the words of our Lord mingle with the beauty in the art. Soli Deo Gloria.