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Christ in the House of Martha and Mary (Vermeer)

Christ in the House of Martha and Mary (Dutch: Christus in het huis van Martha en Maria) is an oil painting finished in 1655 by the Dutch Golden Age painter Johannes Vermeer. It is now in the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh. It is the largest painting by Vermeer and one of the very few with an overt religious subject. The story of Christ visiting the household of the two sisters Mary of Bethany and Martha goes back to the New Testament.[1] The work has also been called Christ in the House of Mary and Martha (reversing the last two names).[2]

Christ in the House of Martha and Mary
ArtistJohannes Vermeer
Yearc. 1655
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions160 cm × 142 cm (63 in × 56 in)
LocationScottish National Gallery, Edinburgh

Painting materials

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The pigment analysis of this painting[3] reveals the use of the pigments of the baroque period such as madder lake, yellow ochre, vermilion and lead white. Vermeer did not paint the robe of Christ with his usual blue pigment of choice ultramarine (see for example The Milkmaid) but with a mixture of smalt, indigo and lead white.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Luke 10:38–42
  2. ^ Liedtke, Walter; Plomp, Michiel C.; Rüger, Axel (2001). Vermeer and the Delft School. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. p. 363 and throughout. ISBN 0-87099-973-7.
  3. ^ Kühn, Hermann (1968). "A Study of the Pigments and Grounds Used by Jan Vermeer". Reports and Studies in the History of Art. 2: 154–202. JSTOR 42618099.
  4. ^ "Johannes Vermeer, 'Christ in the House of Martha and Mary'". Colourlex.

Further reading

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