NEWS & VIEWS
About Our Cover (Fall 2009)

The 1848 painting reproduced on the cover of this issue, by the artist Abel de Pujol (1787-1861) explains its contents in a rather long title: “St. Philip baptizing the Queen of Ethiopia’s Eunuch on the Road from Jerusalem to Gaza.”

Painted in oils on canvas, it refers to the episode related in Acts 8: 26-40. As related in Acts, Philip, a deacon, was called by an angel to go to the spot where he would meet the eunuch, who is not named but described as a court official in charge of the queen’s entire treasury (thus the luxurious dress of the eunuch and his companions in the painting) who had come to Jerusalem to worship. When Philip offers to explain a passage from Isaiah to him, he invites Philip into his chariot, and Philip proclaims the gospel to him. Seeing some water by the side of the road, the eunuch requests baptism. “When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing” (Acts 8:39). Philip finds himself in another place, and continues to preach the good news.
The painting is in the Musee des Beaux-Arts, Valenciennes, France. The photo is by René-Gabriel Ojéda, and the photo credit belongs to the Réunion des Musées Nationaux/Art Resource, N.Y.