Workshop of Philip Galle, after Jan van der Straet
Paul raises Eutychus from the Dead, from the Acta Apostolorum, 1582, Engraving, 202 x 265 mm, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; RP-P-OB-6570, Courtesy of Rijksmuseum
An Upper Room
Commentary by Amina Wright
Paul leaves the third storey where he is preaching and goes down to rescue Eutychus. Here, the whole narrative is compressed into a single space: a crowded, fuggy room packed with people; the newborn church of Troas.
Eutychus, imagined here as a child, is stretched out on the floor, surrounded by anxious adults and curious children. Paul bends over him, pressing his hand to the boy’s heart. The open window that caused the accident gapes darkly above their heads and the air is filled with the smoke of hanging lamps. To the right is the focal point of the room: Paul’s preaching chair raised up on a dais.
In his designs for engravings Jan van der Straet (a Flemish artist mainly active in Italy) interpreted scripture for a society in which discourse on the nature and purpose of the church was tearing Europe apart. This inward-looking composition may reflect the religious chaos of the artist’s times. In the Netherlands, the idea of a community worshipping secretly in the loft of a private house was no longer confined to stories from the New Testament, but was a daily reality for many.
This retelling of the story of Eutychus offers many points for meditation. Paul has stepped down from his throne-like seat and laid aside his book, showing how the authority of the Word reaches its full expression in acts of what St Bede called ‘loving help’ (Martin 1989: 160). The peaceful nursing mother seated near Paul recalls the ancient Roman personification of Charity, and scriptural images likening God’s people to infants nurtured with maternal care (Isaiah 66:5–13; 1 Peter 2:2). Eutychus is healed not outside the meeting house where his fall cast him down, but within the upper room, raised up from below by the strong arms and silent prayers of concerned believers and the apostle’s loving kindness. He is saved within the heart of the church.
References
Baroni Vannucci, Alessandra. 1997. Jan Van Der Straet detto Giovanni Stradano (Milan: Janda Sapi Editori)
Martin, Lawrence T. (ed.). 1989. Bede: Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles (Kalamazoo, Michigan: Cistercian Publications)