Christ with Mary and Martha
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| Christ with Mary and Martha |
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| Jan Vermeer , 1654/1655 |
| Oil on canvas |
| 160 × 142 cm |
| Scottish National Gallery |
Christ with Mary and Martha is a painting by Jan Vermeer . The painting, created in 1654/1655, is one of the first Vermeer's paintings known today, and at 160 centimeters high and 142 centimeters wide, it is also the largest in Vermeer's entire work. The motif is taken from a biblical pericope and assigned to the genre of history painting. This makes it one of the very few devotional pictures by Vermeer's. Christ with Mary and Martha belongs to the collection of the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh .
Image description
Jan Vermeer borrowed the motif of the image Christ with Mary and Martha from a passage from the Gospel of Luke : Jesus Christ comes to Mary and Martha. While Martha prepares the meal, Mary listens to Christ. Martha asks him why he is not asking Mary to help her and receives the answer: “Marta, Marta, you are worried and troubled a lot. But only one thing is necessary. Mary chose the good part that will not be taken from her ”( Lk 10.38-42 EU ).
The composition of the picture is simple compared to the later works of Vermeer's. The arrangement of the figures was based on the pyramid scheme : Martha is standing with a bread basket in hand behind Jesus, who is sitting on a chair and whose head is surrounded by a faint halo . In the foreground Maria is sitting on a stool with her head propped up. This gesture of Mary is supposed to indicate thoughtfulness. As a sign of humility, she does not wear shoes. The outstretched arm of Jesus pointing at her is supposed to mean to Martha that her sister has chosen the better job. The room consisting of wooden walls is kept simple. He does not offer any attributes that would distract from the actual subject of the picture.
In this painting Vermeer used strong color contrasts between the white of the tablecloth and the red of Mary's dress and the blue of the robe of Jesus Christ. In its design and the chosen subject, it shows the influences of the Utrecht Caravaggists , especially ter Brugghen and Bloemaert , on the young Vermeer.
Provenance
The picture is part of the collection of the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh . It was given to her in 1927 by Thomas H. and JA Coats in memory of their father, William A. Coats. Before it entered the Coats Collection at Skelmorlie Castle, North Ayrshire / Scotland, in 1901, it can be traced back to the Abbot Collection in Bristol around 1880.
literature
- Norbert Schneider : Vermeer all paintings . Taschen, Cologne 2004. ISBN 3-8228-6377-7
- DuMont: Vermeer . DuMont Literature and Art Publishing, Cologne 2003. ISBN 3-8321-7339-0
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Trustees of the National Gallery of Scotland, A Companion Guide to the National Gallery, 2000, p. 89
- ↑ http://www.essentialvermeer.com/catalogue/christ_in_the_house_of_mary_and_martha.html