Jacob’s Ladder, part of The St. John’s Bible series
by artist Donald Jackson and scribe Brian Simpson

This illumination shows the surreal wonder of Jacob’s divine experience in Genesis 28:10-22, with his dream of the ascending and descending angels. The abstract gold angels ascending and in attendance are accompanied by fragments of delicate butterflies’ wings in allusion to the wonders of God’s creation. The quotation at the bottom beneath the feet of Jacob links the presence of the butterflies’ wings within a divine experience to their presence on the earth and thus to the fact that God surrounds us in our everyday experiences also.

About the Artist

Donald Jackson (b. 1938) is one of the world’s foremost Western calligraphers. In addition to having been the official scribe to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, he is also regarded as royalty in the field of calligraphy and illumination. Jackson is an elected Fellow and past Chairman of the Society of Scribes and Illuminators, and in 1997, was named Master of the 600-year-old Guild of Scriveners of the city of London. In undertaking a project that has been his lifelong dream (The Saint John’s Bible), Jackson said he is moved by what he renders artistically – “How can you remain unaffected when you’re playing with words like this? You’re writing like God with words that are megaphonable and mega-explosive.”