The Marriage at Cana
(Baroque Europe )
This scene depicts the first miracle of Christ, related in the Gospel of John. At a wedding, after all the wine had been drunk, Jesus ordered six jars to be filled with water, which he then turned into wine. Here, Jesus points to the jars while his mother gazes reverently at him.
Gandolfi introduces a variety of figures, including both an oriental man wearing a turban and an African servant, and further anecdotal details (the fighting animals), resulting in a liveliness of pictorial expression comparable to Tiepolo.
This work was the "modello" (preparatory version) for an enormous canvas painted for the eating hall in the convent of San Salvatore in Bologna and now in the National Museum there.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
The Counts Grassi, Bologna [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Don Marcello Massarenti Collection, Rome [date and mode of acquisition unknown] [1881 catalogue: no. 95; 1897 catalogue: no. 410, as G. B. Tiepolo]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1902, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
1996 | Tiepolo Unveiled: The Restoration of a Masterpiece. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
1993 | Bella Pittura: The Art of the Gandolfi. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock. |
Conservation
Date | Description | Narrative |
---|---|---|
8/26/1985 | Examination | examined for condition |
Geographies
Italy, Bologna (Place of Origin)
Measurements
Painted surface H to arched top: 33 15/16 x W: 44 1/8 in. (86.2 x 112 cm); Stretcher H: 35 1/16 x W: 44 1/8 in. (89 x 112 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters with the Massarenti Collection, 1902
Location in Museum
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
37.1919