Saint Mary of Egypt
Artist
Jean-Baptiste Greuze
(French, 1725-1805)
Date1800
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions71 1/2 x 57 1/4 in. (181.6 x 145.4 cm)
Overall, Frame: 88 x 74 in. (223.5 x 188 cm)
Overall, Frame: 88 x 74 in. (223.5 x 188 cm)
ClassificationsEuropean art
Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
Object number71.652
Terms
- Religion
- Mary
- Lion
- Christianity
- Black
- Brown
- Yellow
- White
- Paris
Collections
On View
Not on viewLabel TextJean-Baptiste Greuze French, 1725–1805 Saint Mary of Egypt, 1800 Oil on canvas Jean-Baptiste Greuze devoted one of his largest canvases to this grand depiction of the early Christian Saint Mary, naked and repentant in her desert cave. It is also his last major commission, painted by the 75-year-old artist for Napoleon Bonaparte’s brother Lucien. Once famed for his scenes of everyday French life, Greuze was now penniless and alone. “I have lost everything but talent and courage,” he wrote. The sorrowing Mary and equally mournful lion—a saintly attribute that, according to legend, helped dig her grave—may mirror the anguish of Greuze’s own final years. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.652
Pair/Pair
