Loading
Christ Healing the Deaf-Mute
Philippe de ChampaigneEurope, Baroque (1590-1750)
University of Michigan Museum of Art
Ann Arbor, United States
Details
- Title: Christ Healing the Deaf-Mute
- Creator: Philippe de Champaigne
- Creator Lifespan: 1602/1674
- Creator Nationality: French
- Creator Gender: Male
- Creator Death Place: Paris, France
- Creator Birth Place: Brussels, Belgium
- Date Created: Europe, Baroque (1590-1750)
- Location: Paris, France
- Physical Dimensions: w74.2 x h59.6 mm (work)
- Label Copy: Philippe de Champaigne was an enormously successful court painter, patronized by the kings and queens of Europe. Although he is well known as a portrait painter, he also produced landscapes, which were greatly admired for their strong sense of atmosphere and deft gradations of color; many of his elaborate landscapes provide the setting for biblical stories. In this rendition of Christ’s miraculous healing of a deaf-mute—which corresponds almost exactly to the account given in Mark 7:32–34—Christ places one hand on the ear of the afflicted man kneeling before him, and a finger in the man’s mouth. It is the very moment of the miracle, and as his startled followers look on and gesture in disbelief, Christ gazes heavenward; others, including a lone boatman who paddles across the river, rush to the scene to witness the event. Dramatic as the subject is, the figures appear to be almost secondary to the artist’s interest in creating a richly detailed landscape. The subtle colors and masterful rendition of light imbue the surrounding scene with a quiet grandeur that complements the drama of Christ’s miracle and serves to remind the viewer that the natural world is not the least of God’s miracles.
- Type: Painting
- External Link: http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1960-sl-2.93/1960_2.93.JPG?lasttype=boolean;lastview=thumbnail;resnum=1;sel9=ic_exact;size=20;sort=relevance;start=1;subview=detail;view=entry;rgn1=musart_an;select1=starts;q1=1960%2F2.93
- Medium: oil on canvas
Get the app
Explore museums and play with Art Transfer, Pocket Galleries, Art Selfie, and more
