A Son Is Given

By: Richard III

Medium: Acrylic on Canvas Panel

Dimensions: 24in x 30in

Year: 2013 (Unfinished)

Status: Private Collection / Unavailable

A Son Is Given : Unfinished

A Son Is Given stands as a profound masculine introspection and a direct chronological successor to the themes explored in A Child Is Born. While the previous works centered on the physical miracle of birthing and the "Gospel of the Mother," this canvas pivots to look outwardly toward the heavens to capture the divine archetype of God the Father offering His only begotten Son. The central figure emerges from a shadowed, textured background representing Tohu va-Bohu—the biblical "void" or formless chaos. This infant is depicted as the literal manifestation of the command "Let there be light," glowing with an ethereal blue radiance that suggests a pre-incarnate, celestial presence established before the foundation of the world.

The oversized hands cradling the infant represent a heavy realization for the artist regarding the nature of fatherhood. Rather than a simple gesture of protection, these hands reflect the agonizing concept of release. Just as the Father in Heaven gave His Son to the world, the earthly father must eventually open his hands and give his sons away to the harshness of the world we live in, to ridicule, to persecution, and the cold reality of adulthood. The hands are a vessel of transition, acknowledging that to "give" a son is to surrender him to a world that may not be kind to him. This mirrors the subtle cross looming behind the infant’s head, signifying that the gift of life is inextricably linked to a path of sacrifice.

Originally started in 2013, "A Son Is Given" remains an unfinished work, a state that reflects a life and a family still being built and defined. It is a hallmark of the artist's process to intentionally space out years before completing a piece, allowing him to return to the canvas with "new eyes" and the wisdom of a fresh perspective. To eventually complete the narrative, the artist plans to utilize a scarification technique, braising scriptural text directly into the void of the background. These embossed verses will act as spiritual masonry, providing texture to the shadows without diminishing the appearance of the "Void". This process will represent the Word being present in a secretive manner, much like raised scars on the painted surface—a testimony of a journey twelve years in the making.