by Matthew Storz, Nov. 18, 2009
I received one of Warner Sallman’s paintings after my grandmother, Edith Viste (Slater), 93, passed away in April of 2009.
The 1942 painting of Christ at Heart’s Door now hangs in my home. I did not know anything about the painting prior to looking online and it had been hanging on my wall for seven months before I saw the outline of the heart.
The painting reminded me of these posters we had as kids growing up in the late 1980s to early 90s that you would stare at for several minutes before you would see a hidden image, made famous in the movie Mallrats.
After reading more online about the painting, it intrigues me even more about the darkness behind the grill in the door and the the thistles in which Christ is surrounded; the outline of the heart really is genius painting.
Sallman really thought through how to paint this without making everything so obvious. There is so much going on in the painting, much like one’s personal relationship with Jesus Christ everyday.