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Lot Essay
The present painting depicts Christ's first public miracle, performed at the wedding feast at the village of Cana in Galilee. The story, told only by John (1:1-12), tells that among the guests were Jesus, his mother Mary and some of the disciples. When the wine was exhausted, Jesus, at his mother's request, ordered six stone jars, each holding about a hundred liters and used for ritual washing, to be filled with water. The master of ceremonies tasted the contents and was astonished to find that it had been turned into wine of the best quality.
The subject was rare in early monastic painting, perhaps reflecting the celibate's attitude toward marriage, but from around the 15th century it became, like the Last Supper, a subject for refectories. Primarily, it has its place in Christian art as one of the three festivals of Epiphany (the Adoration of the Magi and the Baptism being the other two), celebrated by the medieval Church as God's first manifestation to man of Christ's miraculous powers.
The present work, by an as yet unidentified artist, follows in theme and scale the tradition of great artists such as Paolo Veronese (Musée du Louvre, Paris), and Mattia Preti (National Gallery, London).
The subject was rare in early monastic painting, perhaps reflecting the celibate's attitude toward marriage, but from around the 15th century it became, like the Last Supper, a subject for refectories. Primarily, it has its place in Christian art as one of the three festivals of Epiphany (the Adoration of the Magi and the Baptism being the other two), celebrated by the medieval Church as God's first manifestation to man of Christ's miraculous powers.
The present work, by an as yet unidentified artist, follows in theme and scale the tradition of great artists such as Paolo Veronese (Musée du Louvre, Paris), and Mattia Preti (National Gallery, London).