Barry Moser is another
famous carver of woodblocks.
“I think when people have illustrated the Bible, most of them have been devout Christians. Because they’re devout Christians they can’t separate themselves from the work. They get mired in piety, so they can’t see the darkness. They only see the light of salvation. But if you don’t have the darkness to contrast with the light, then what are you offering but cotton candy for Sunday school children? I think that some of the images in this Bible will be disturbing to a lot of people. The Bible is a very disturbing book.”
– Barry Moser, illustrator
“Within two weeks of the book’s release last October — about the time it took for the first printing of fifty thousand to sell out — it became clear that this was a work of art of genuine importance: an unmistakably serious work which nevertheless had a wide appeal, and which bridged the usual gaps of sympathy between Christians and Jews, black and white, popular culture and high culture, right-wing and liberal Christians. No artist since Rembrandt has handled biblical subjects with such intimate confidence and such trust in the unbeautified human face; no illustrated Bible has so rooted itself in the modern sensibility.”
– Catherine Madsen
A Terrible Beauty: Moser’s Bible