The Raising of Lazarus (Rembrandt)

The painting shows the moment Lazarus re-awakens from death and rises from his tomb as Christ calls him.

The painting depicts a parable of spiritual life, the miracle of the hardened sinner receiving first grace (sorrow for sins committed in order to seek penitence and redemption).

Rembrandt painted The Raising of Lazarus early in his career, while he was still in Leiden, and not long after his apprenticeship under Pieter Lastman, whose influence is clear.

(Sister Wendy Beckett opines that Jesus is portrayed in this work as a weary magician rather than a triumphant savior.)

The painting passed through various owners in Europe until it was bought by Howard F. Ahmanson, Sr. in 1959 and then donated to the LA County Museum of Art.