Jesus and the Woman of Samaria

Gustave Doré · 1866 (designs for La Sainte Bible, Tours); this printing 1873–1874
National Library of Poland, Warsaw

This engraving after Doré is from the Bible he illustrated in 1866, a book whose plates were soon printed in English, German, Polish and many other editions.

The woman stands at the well in a long white dress, a scarf on her head and a rope in her hand, leaning on her tall jar. Jesus, with a halo, sits on the stone steps of the well and points as He speaks. Behind them rise dark cypresses and palms, a carved well-house with a pulley, and far off, other women carry jars on their heads.

From the text

“Jesus, weary from His journey, sat down by the well” (John 4:6)

When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” (John 4:7)

“You are a Jew,” said the woman. “How can You ask for a drink from me” (John 4:9)

The artist’s own

A grand well with a carved stone frame and a pulley wheel

Cypresses, palms and vines around Jacob’s well

The woman in a white dress and earrings, standing in full light

Details

The woman

In a white dress and headscarf, she holds the rope and looks down at Him.

The water jar

A tall clay jar rests on the rim of the well.

Jesus

With a halo, He sits on the steps and raises a finger as He speaks.

Far away

Small figures carry jars on their heads under the palms.

Gustave Doré, French, 1832–1883. National Library of Poland (Biblioteka Narodowa), Warsaw — «Pismo Święte Starego i Nowego Testamentu», vol. 2, Warsaw: M. Glücksberg, 1874 (acc. 75.267 A) · Wood engraving after Gustave Doré’s design · National Library of Poland (Polona): the record of the volume gives the licence «Domena Publiczna» (Public Domain), «copyrightProtected»: false; the scan was uploaded to Wikimedia Commons by the library itself («Polona Upload», GLAM-Wiki partnership: “This file was uploaded to Wikimedia Commons as part of a GLAM-Wiki partnership between the National Library of Poland and Wikimedia Polska”), linking its Polona record.

The verses

John 4:5–10So He came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Since Jacob’s well was there, Jesus, weary from His journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) “You are a Jew,” said the woman. “How can You ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”