He Was Wounded for Our Transgressions
Sandra Bowden
collograph mixed media
30" x 22"
1992

The Old Testament prophets’ writings pointed the way to the coming of the Messiah who was born to Mary in Bethlehem. Simeon prayed at the dedication of Jesus, "My eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a LIGHT for revelation to the gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."

No prophet more poignantly describes the redemptive work of the Messiah than Isaiah:
He was despised and rejected . . . a man of sorrows . . . Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, . . . he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed . . . and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53)

This was the work of the One who came into the world to bring LIGHT to the world. A reworked photo of a fourteenth century crucifixion by Italian painter Master of San Francesco Bardi is the centerpiece of this mixed-media collograph. The entire text of Isaiah 53 has been handwritten on the surface surrounding the crucifixion image. Layered under the cross is the "Sanctus" from Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem, written for the rededication of Coventry Cathedral.