A guest with a halo sits among the people at the long table.
Bible in art · John
The Wedding at Cana
Gustave Doré · 1866
The Met, New York
This plate is in the second volume of the first edition of «La Sainte Bible» (Tours, Alfred Mame and Sons, 1866), photographed in a bound copy at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The wedding feast sits on a raised terrace under a great striped awning, with Jesus, His head ringed with light, among the guests at the long table. Below, in the bright courtyard, the servants are busy with tall jars: some kneel to fill them, a man with a staff directs them, and women carry jars on their heads.
From the text
- “six stone water jars had been set there for the Jewish rites of purification” (John 2:6)
- Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” (John 2:7)
- “So they filled them to the brim.” (John 2:7)
The artist’s own
- Many more than six jars, and clay ones carried on the head
- A courtyard with high walls, small arched windows and an awning stretched on ropes
- The feast seen from far off, so the servants below are the main figures
Details
Jesus at the table
The awning
A great striped cloth hangs over the terrace.
The servants
Men kneel and bend over tall jars in the courtyard.
Jars by the stairs
A row of jars stands at the foot of the steps.
Gustave Doré, French, 1832–1883. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Museum Accession, transferred from the Library; acc. 1977.643.13(1–2)) · Wood engraving, plate in «La Sainte Bible» (Tours: Alfred Mame et Fils, 1866), vol. 2 · Public Domain — The Met Open Access (CC0). The Met Collection API record: "isPublicDomain": true; The Met marks such works on its website "with the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) icon".