Scanned from a slide by Jimmy Brown; color-corrected by Pat Cagney.

Landscape with the Journey to Emmaus

Artist Pierre Patel the Elder (French, 1605-1676)

Date1652

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsOverall: 27 3/8 x 36 1/2 in. (69.5 x 92.7 cm)
Overall, Frame: 38 x 46 3/8 x 3 3/4 in. (96.5 x 117.8 x 9.5 cm)

ClassificationsEuropean art

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

Object number71.686

Terms

Religion
Landscape
Jesus
Disciples
Christianity
Blue
Green
Yellow
Brown
Red
White

Collections

European Art before 1945

On View

On view

DescriptionThis is an oil on canvas painting. The subject of the painting is in the lower right foreground, where a newly risen Christ meets with two of his disciples; they travel unrecognized toward Emmaus. Crumbling ruins are on the left side of the canvas, while the background is an open countryside, shown at dusk.

Label TextPierre Patel the Elder French, ca. 1605–1676 Landscape with the Journey to Emmaus, 1652 Oil on canvas In earlier European paintings, landscapes typically served as mere backdrops for religious or classical figures. By 1600, artists began to treat the landscape as a worthy subject in its own right. Consider how the scenery all but overwhelms the tiny figures in Pierre Patel’s painting. The newly resurrected Christ and two disciples are certainly important figures, but they serve here as a pretext for the landscape itself—a sweeping vista of an idyllic, open countryside beyond the crumbling, vine-draped ruins. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.686