Christ in the house of Martha and Mary ( Dutch. Christus in het huis van Martha en Maria ) is a painting by the Dutch artist Jan Vermeer , made in 1655. The work is stored in the National Gallery of Scotland , located in Edinburgh . The picture refers to the period of the artist’s early work and is presumably the first custom-made [1] .
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| Jan Vermeer | ||
| Christ in the house of Martha and Mary . 1655 | ||
| niderl. Christus in het huis van Martha en Maria | ||
| canvas, oil. 160 × 142 cm | ||
| National Gallery of Scotland , Edinburgh | ||
| ( Inv. ) | ||
Content
Creation
The painting “Christ in the House of Martha and Mary” was completed in 1655 and is one of the earliest works of Jan Vermeer. At the beginning of his career, the artist often resorted to mythological motives (for example, the painting " Diana with Companions ") and religious, which led to the creation of the painting "Christ in the House of Martha." Atypical for Vermeer, the style of the painting prompted many researchers of the Dutch artist to think that this work could be made to order [2] .
Story
| A woman named Martha received him into her house; she had a sister named Mary, who sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to His word. Martha, however, cared for a great treat and, going up, said: Lord! or do you need that my sister left me alone to serve? tell her to help me. Jesus answered her: Martha! Martha! you care and fuss about a lot, but one thing is necessary; Mary chose the good part, which will not be taken from her. ( Luke 10: 38–42 ) |
During his wanderings, Christ came to Bethany and stopped for the night in the house of the sisters of Lazarus - Mary and Martha. Martha began cooking in the kitchen and scolded Mary sitting at Jesus' feet for lack of help on her part. In her words, Christ replied that Mary had chosen the best occupation - following the instructions of the Lord [3] [4] .
Description
The work “Christ in the House of Martha and Mary” was made in the tradition of the Utrecht school of art. When creating the painting, Vermeer used dark, ocher and warm golden tones, the brightness of which he highlighted with the help of dark colors [1] . The artist placed three figures in the center of the picture, while lowering many details so as not to oversaturate the composition. In the appearance of the two sisters, Vermeer conveyed cardinal differences in their characters. The background was executed in dark colors to focus on the characters of the picture [5] . The arrangement of the figures, the fictional interior and the landscape are imitations of the Italian Renaissance tradition [2] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Jan Vermeer . - Ripol Classic. - 42 p. - ISBN 9785386078270 .
- ↑ 1 2 Vermeer Jan - Directmedia, 2014-07-15. - 49 p. - ISBN 9785747500723 .
- ↑ Great masters of European painting . - OLMA Media Group, 2006 .-- 729 p. - ISBN 9785373005517 .
- ↑ scripture. New Testament of Our Lord Jesus Christ . - Slavamax BVBA, 2016-04-23. - 603 s. - ISBN 9781629470498 .
- ↑ Johannes Vermeer. Delphi Complete Works of Johannes Vermeer (Illustrated) . - Delphi Classics, 2014-07-09. - 259 p.