Today (October 17th) the painting that has been described as the world’s most travelled artwork will be put back on display in its perfect setting. William Holman Hunt’s ‘The Light of the World’ has been restored and returned to a more prominent and better lit position in the south transept of St Paul’s Cathedral, London.
It has been on display there since 1908 but the new position will allow the million people who visit the cathedral each year to get a better view. The artist Holman Hunt had already completed two earlier versions of the painting of the same subject when in the final years of his life he embarked on a third, bigger version than the ones that reside in Keble College, Oxford and Manchester Art Gallery.
Holman Hunt took four years to complete his most acclaimed painting in 1904. It had an impact few paintings have achieved before or after. Between 1905 and 1907 it was sent on a tour of the British Empire, visiting Canada, Australia and South Africa. It was a sensation. It’s claimed that 80 per cent of the population of Australia queued to see it. In Melbourne there was even a stampede though once inside the building the crowd fell into awestruck silence, with men removing their hats and a few ladies fainting from the emotional intensity of the experience.
On the tour it was viewed by seven million people. Eventually, on its return to England. It was purchased by the shipping magnate and social reformer Charles Booth and donated to St Paul’s. Recently it has been cleaned and looks better than ever. Holman Hunt claimed he was working by “divine command” as he illustrated two separate Bible passages. The first is from St John’s Gospel when Jesus said: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” The second is a sentence from the Book of Revelation: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come to you and sup with you and you with me.”
The common interpretation is that it’s the door to the soul and because it has no handle on the outside it can only be opened from within if Christ is admitted. The power of the image was so acute because it suggested everyone - no matter what their social standing, moral blemishes and levels of wealth or poverty - could have access to “the light” if only they opened their souls and their consciences to God.
Holman Hunt was in tears when The Light of the World has hung in St Paul’s in 1908. Two years later he was dead. His ashes were interred in the cathedral next to the remains of Christopher Wren, Joshua Reynolds and JMW Turner. Perhaps his artistic career did not elevate him into such acclaimed company but there is no doubt with one painting he staked his claim to immortality.