The Woman of Samaria
1859-1862
The Walters Art Museum
Baltimore, United States
The Gospel of John relates the story of a Samaritan woman who is asked by Jesus for a drink of water. After talking with him, she realizes that he is the Messiah. Rinehart represents the woman, standing with her water vase. A native of Maryland, the artist, with the financial help of William T. Walters, settled in Rome in 1858. There, he sculpted idealized figures as well as portraits of visiting Americans. He worked in a neoclassical style but was also influenced by the emerging naturalistic trends in sculpture.
Two large marbles of this subject were cut (the original order for William T. Walters and one for Governor Edward D. Morgan of New York in 1874) and eight reductions.
- Title: The Woman of Samaria
- Creator: William Henry Rinehart (American, 1825-1874)
- Date Created: 1859-1862
- External Link: For more information about this and thousands of other works of art in the Walters Art Museum collection, please visit art.thewalters.org
- Roles: Artist: William Henry Rinehart (American, 1825-1874)
- Provenance: Commissioned by William T. Walters, Baltimore, 1862 [commissioned in 1859, completed in 1862]; inherited by Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1894; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.
- Period: Modern
- Object Type: sculptures
- Medium: marble
- Inscriptions: [Signature] W.H.Rinehart/sculpt
- Exhibitions: From Rye to Raphael: The Walters Story. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 2014-2016.
- Dimensions: H: 65 in. (165.1 cm)
- Credit Line: Commissioned by William T. Walters, 1859
- Classification: Sculpture
- Accession Number: 28.1
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