Ascension Art Series: Benjamin West

 

 

This 19th century depiction of Christ's Ascension by British painter Benjamin West is a large (49.5 X 34") oil on canvas painting.  It had a long and interesting journey to its current location at the Denver Art Museum in Denver, Colorado, where it is part of the Berger Collection.

 

Here once again the artist portrayed the men in white garments as angels.

Ascension Art Series: Giotto

 

Upcoming on Thursday, May 14, 2026 is the feast of the Ascension, traditionally a holy day of obligation.

Our Lord's Ascension is described in Acts 1:6-11:

They therefore who were come together, asked him, saying: Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?  7 But he said to them: It is not for you to know the times or moments, which the Father hath put in his own power:  8 But you shall receive the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the uttermost part of the earth.  9 And when he had said these things, while they looked on, he was raised up: and a cloud received him out of their sight.  10 And while they were beholding him going up to heaven, behold two men stood by them in white garments.  11 Who also said: Ye men of Galilee, why stand you looking up to heaven? This Jesus who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come, as you have seen him going into heaven.

The men in white garments are generally understood to be angels.  They are depicted as such in most artistic representations of the Ascension.

Above is Giotto's 14th century fresco of the event, found in the Scrovegni chapel in Padua, Italy

Church Flowers for the Ascension

 

This Thursday, May 14. 2026, will be the feast of the Ascension of our Lord.  The liturgical color for the vestments and altar cloths is white.  While that does not mean the flowers must also be white, flowers in the white spectrum do seem most appropriate to Christ's Ascension on clouds of glory.

In my view, tall white flowers such as delphinium, gladiolas, or callas, simply arranged, would be best since they give the sense of reaching upward.

But there are many other white flowers to choose from that can be seen to symbolize the glory and purity of heaven.

In reflecting on how this feast day was historically celebrated at different times and in different places around the world, there is a very enjoyable post at TIA by Rachel L. Lozowski.  The author states:

"The dew that covered the ground on the morning of Ascension Day was held as sacral. The Russians called this dew the tears of the earth that was weeping because of Our Lord's departure. The Dutch rose at dawn to walk through the morning dew in the fields and meadows, a custom called 'dew treading.' The walk ended at a house or inn where the flowers they had gathered decorated the early morning breakfast tables."

 Ascension image:

Andrei Rublev's Ascension icon from Wikimedia Commons.  In the public domain.