Christ in the house of Mary and Martha
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| Christ in the house of Mary and Martha |
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| Diego Velázquez , 1618 |
| Oil on canvas |
| 63 × 103 cm |
| National Gallery (London) |
Christ in the House of Mary and Martha is a painting by Diego Velázquez and is one of his early works. It was created in 1618 shortly after he finished his apprenticeship with Francisco Pacheco del Río . The painting is one of the so-called Bodegón , a form of painting popular in Spain, especially in the 17th century, in which everyday scenes (in the kitchen or wine tavern) were combined with scenes from the Bible.
The scene shown in the background refers to a story in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 10: 38-42) and is about the two sisters Mary and Martha from Bethany , who were both followers of Jesus.
Similar to the painting Las Meninas or the Spinners , created much later, Christ also poses iconographic riddles in the house of Mary and Martha . The old woman points with her finger at a young woman who looks slightly pouting at the viewer. With the scene in the background with Christ, Martha and Maria, it remains open whether the viewer looks at this scene through an opening in the wall, whether it is a painting or whether a mirror allows the viewer to see the scene.
history
The picture comes from the possession of Lieutenant Colonel Henry Packe, who took part in the Napoleonic Wars in Spain. After his death, the painting was put up for auction at Christie's in 1881 and purchased by Sir William Henry Gregory, who donated it to the National Gallery in 1892. Since the picture was in poor condition, showing cracks, paint loss and abrasion, it was extensively restored in 1964 and mounted on a new canvas. During the restoration, traces of an image dating were uncovered which, according to López-Rey, confirm a date of 1618.
literature
- José López-Rey: Velázquez . Vol. 1. pp. 26-27, Vol. 2: Catalog No. 7. Cologne: Taschen 1999.
Web links
- National Gallery: Christ in the House of Martha and Mary
- Astrid Nettling: Kitchen scene with Christ and the "Vita activa", Bildinterpretation Deutschlandfunk, December 7, 2016.