At the age of just three and a half, Akiane Kramarik began seeing visions from the spiritual realm and immediately started painting what she saw. At that time, she did not know about Jesus – she did not know who He was – yet she claimed to have seen His face; at the age of eight, she painted that very image, which later became one of the most famous paintings of Jesus Christ. The painting is titled “Prince of Peace” a name by which Christ is called in the Book of Isaiah in the Bible.
Akiane was born into a non – religious family. Her mother was an atheist who was originally from Lithuania and later moved to the United States, where she met Akiane’s father. Although he was born into a Catholic family, he did not practice his faith at all. At the age of five and a half, Akiane experienced what she describes as a supernatural encounter in which she experienced a visit to the spiritual realm that lasted seven hours. During that time, she disappeared without a trace, and her parents, together with the police, searched for her throughout the neighbourhood.
She says that during this experience, many things were shown to her, and that she returned with a strong sense of having a mission – to share, predominantly through her paintings, what she had experienced and seen. Akiane describes how, although she was gone for seven hours, it felt as though she had been away for years, and to exist outside of time.
Photo: Аkiane Кramarik
At the age of seven, Akiane received a strong inspiration to paint the vision she had of Jesus’ face. It took her 40 hours to complete the painting. Her studio became a place where she slept, she would wake up and immediately continue painting. She barely ate, with all her focus and energy directed toward making the painting as close as possible to the vision she had in her mind.
Akiane faced significant opposition and persecution after painting the portrait of Jesus Christ. Akiane faced opposition from professors, teachers, neighbours, and friends. Many people called the painting blasphemous and despised it, believing that the paintings Akiane had created should be burned and that she should stop painting. The painting was missing for more than a decade before it was returned.
Akiane and her family initially hired an agent to promote her artwork. However, he was so opposed to the painting of Christ that one day he took it, hid it, and refused to return it, believing that no one should see the painting. Nevertheless, after several months, the agent returned the painting.
Photo: Аkiane Кramarik
After Akiane’s family terminated their agreement with that agent, they hired a new one. However, the new agent sold the painting „Prince of Peace“ without their knowledge, leaving the family without the painting once again – this time for a much longer period.
After more than 15 years, Akiane’s family located the painting, but the new owners were asking nearly one million dollars to return it. Akiane and her family were not financially able to buy the painting back, but then a devoted Christian family from Texas stepped in and offered to purchase the painting and promote it.
Since then, the painting has been displayed in a gallery in Texas, where visitors can see this remarkable work of art – a painting that has been surrounded by controversy, yet has also touched many hearts and inspired people to turn toward faith in our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Sources: Spotify, Akiane Official, BelovedGallery
Edited by: Kristina Dimitrievska
