Christ in a Red Robe
Minerva Teichert (1888–1976) | oil on canvas | 76 1/2" x 52"| 1945
Christ in a Red Robe after 2020 conservation.
The Old Testament prophet Isaiah, whose words Teichert was fond of quoting, prophesied that Christ would return to earth wearing red, symbolizing His sacrifice for all (see Isaiah 63:1–3). Christ descends dramatically, clothed in scarlet, while figures fall at His feet. The righteous reach to the Savior while the unrighteous cower, coins dropped on the ground indicating their worldly priorities. Christ’s hands are outstretched to all, inviting them to come to Him and partake of His sacrifice.
In 1945, Teichert wrote her daughter about painting Christ in His red robes, saying: “This Christ painting (life-size) pleases me. It’s just what I’d hoped.” When finished, Teichert’s Christ in a Red Robe hung in the Denver First Ward meetinghouse. In 1964, arsonists set fire to the building, and the painting was nearly lost. In addition to being discolored with grime and soot, the painting began to blister under the extreme heat. Paint fell off when those blisters broke, particularly on the right side of the Savior’s robe.
Conservation Notes
In 1978, conservators from BYU cleaned the painting, consolidated the blistered areas, and painted in the areas of loss. In 2020, curators noticed that underneath the gold frame of the painting was an indication of a painted frame. Teichert viewed her paintings as murals that would be affixed to the wall and didn’t need a frame. At some point, someone had wrapped the painted frame around a stretcher bar.
Bottom-left corner of Christ in a Red Robe showing painted frame wrapped around the stretcher bar.
Mobile Art Conservation Services restored the painted frame by attaching the canvas onto a new lining, filling in the tack holes, and inpainting the areas of loss so that viewers, used to seeing this painting without the painted frame, can enjoy it as Teichert intended.
Detail of Christ in a Red Robe mid-conservation after the tacked holes were filled in.