The artist's weakening eyesight may have contributed to the picture's peculiar mosaic-like effect by preventing him from harmonizing the various figures and groupings. His letters and diaries reveal that he spent a considerable amount of time thus repainting his earlier major works to bring different portions into more pleasing relation to each other. This process always seemed to have placed a great deal of strain on his eyes, and he may not have been able to work in this manner on this late work.
[Return to the discussion of The Miracle of the Holy Fire in the Church of the Sepulchre at Jerusalem]
Last modified December 2001