Bible in art · Luke

Christ Disputing with Doctors

Dürer · c. 1503–1504
The Cleveland Museum of Art

Dürer made the woodcuts of the Life of the Virgin in Nuremberg around 1501–05 and sold them as single sheets; in 1511 he published the series as a book.

In a vaulted hall of the Temple, the boy Jesus sits high behind a lectern, speaking with raised hand. Teachers argue and leaf through books on the benches, while at the left Mary steps in with her companions.

From the text

They found him “in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions” (Luke 2:46)
All who heard him were astounded (Luke 2:47)
His mother speaks to him (Luke 2:48)

The artist’s own

The Temple as a school hall with desks, benches and a garland across the ceiling
Teachers in the hats and robes of scholars of Dürer’s time

Details

The boy Jesus

A long-haired boy speaks from a high seat behind the lectern.

The teachers

A seated teacher raises his hand in argument.

Mary

A veiled woman comes in at the left.

At the books

Old men bend over books at a desk.

Albrecht Dürer, German, 1471–1528. The Cleveland Museum of Art (Dudley P. Allen Fund, 1959.99.16) · Woodcut · Cleveland Museum of Art Open Access: Collection API record "share_license_status": "CC0" (Creative Commons Zero, https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/).

The verses

Luke 2:41–51Every year His parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. And when He was twelve years old, they went up according to the custom of the Feast. When those days were over and they were returning home, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but His parents were unaware He had stayed. Assuming He was in their company, they traveled on for a day before they began to look for Him among their relatives and friends. When they could not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for Him. Finally, after three days they found Him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astounded at His understanding and His answers. When His parents saw Him, they were astonished. “Child, why have You done this to us?” His mother asked. “Your father and I have been anxiously searching for You.” “Why were you looking for Me?” He asked. “Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” But they did not understand the statement He was making to them. Then He went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But His mother treasured up all these things in her heart.

See it at the museum’s site