Christ and the Woman of Samaria

The scene represented is that narrated by St. John, at the fourth chapter of his Gospel, verse seven: "There cometh a woman of Samaria, to draw water. Jesus saith to her, 'Give me a drink.'"

Christ, seated on a rocky ledge on the left, facing three-quarters to the right, wears a long purple robe highlighted with gilding, a short beard and long hair. His bare feet rest on a slab of stone. The woman of Samaria wears a brocaded mulberry-brown overdress with short sleeves having puffed and jeweled edges. The long sleeves of the blue under-dress hang wide at the wrists. Her forehead is shaven and her hair caught in a tight-fitting cap. She stands on a square plinth near the central wall, pouring water from a small jug into a pitcher on the ground. On the left is a tree. In the distant background to the left appears Christ, distinguished by his radiant halo, with a group of five disciples approaching the scene, while in the central background there are three other disciples. Between the two groups there are two barns or hovels, quite German in style, and on the right the fortified wall of Samaria. The sky, streaked with tiny elongated gilt clouds, is painted in two colors: turquoise above the horizon, deep blue towards the zenith.

The style resembles that of the manuscript illuminator Jean Bourdichon. The facial characteristics connect it with the manner of the Master of the Louis XII Triptych. Various details demonstrate an increasing influence of the technique of engraving.

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.

Valerio Collection Sale, Paris, December 18, 1893, no. 76; Jacques Seligmann, Paris [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; William T. / Henry Walters Collection, Baltimore, [date of acquisition unknown] by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.