The Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. announced that a copy of the Wiedmann Bible is set to go on display starting June 1, 2019. The historic Wiedmann Bible beautifully illustrates the Scriptures in 3,333 pages bound in 19 leporellos/concertina, or accordion-like books. It measures about a mile in length, previously the world’s largest concertina book, reports Religion News Service.
Created by Willy Wiedmann within a period of more than 16 years, the book opens to the story of creation in Genesis. The German painter passed away in 2013 before being able to share his artwork to the public. Fortunately, his son, Martin, found the concertina book stored in four aluminum boxes in the attic of his father’s painting studio. Now, Martin promotes the late artist’s work.
With the Wiedmann Bible, you can experience the Bible in a whole new way as paintings. —Martin Wiedmann
Martin revealed that his father wanted to spread awareness of the Bible, especially to those who are daunted by the length and complex language of the book. He highly recommends people to make Bible reading a daily habit and viewing the Wiedmann Bible is a good start. “I strongly suggest to take a much deeper dive into the biblical stories,” he said. “With the Wiedmann Bible, you can experience the Bible in a whole new way as paintings.”
According to the Wiedmann Bible website, “The Wiedmann Bible is on its way to fulfill its mission: sharing the Bible with everyone through images, thus giving them a new way to access as well as an understanding of it.”
Willy Wiedmann once said, “The ones who are afraid of reading the Bible, because they often do not understand the written text, can benefit from it.”
The Museum of the Bible said preparing for the Wiedmann Bible exhibit will require at least 1,000 volunteers, according to Uganda Christian News.
“The Wiedmann Bible exhibit is one of the most popular at the museum, and yet, you can’t truly understand the artifact’s uniqueness until you see just how long it is,” said Museum of the Bible CEO Ken McKenzie. “I encourage everyone who is able to literally reach out their hands and join me in making history on June 1.”