Continental European before 1800 16 Could this really be showing Christ casting the devil out of a convulsing man?

Christ Raising Lazarus
Topic: Subject or sitter

Lazarus was resurrected from his tomb so this is not likely to be the subject here. An episode described in the Gospels of Mark and Luke describes an incident in Capernaum in which Christ casts the devil out of a convulsing man before a crowd in the Synagogue. (Mark 1:21-28 - Luke 4:31-37) Perhaps this is the subject here? If this is the subject, given the work's size, it may have been commissioned for a particular location - such as the Bethlem Hospital in London.

16 comments

Giulia Forti,

Definitely, this is the subject! And, as you can see, a cloud of smoke comes out from the boy's mouth.Typical for this iconography. The painting looks like a copy, I'll research on that. Maybe part of a larger series on episodes of Christ healing.

Wellcome Collection,

The same composition, in the same direction, appears in the collection of engravings Taferelen der voornaamste geschiedenissen van het oude en nieuwe testament, commissioned by Pieter de Hondt and published by him in The Hague in 1728. The prints were made from drawings by Gerard Hoet, Arnold Houbraken and Bernard Picart. This one, showing Mark I.21-28, is pl. XXII in the New Testament series (there is more than one numbering sequence of plates) and has the credit line "Picart delin.": see attached. There's an impression of it in the Wellcome Collection (but not in its catalogue), and the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Insitute has digitised the entire work at https://digital.clarkart.edu/digital/collection/p16245coll5/id/83157
One of the purposes of prints was to provide models for painters to work from, especially when far from a metropolis: here the painter has enlarged the composition on a massive scale (from 50cm high to 209cm high), and of course determined the colouring. A good example of this type of painting: wonder where it was made? As Picart's plates were widely disseminated, it could well have been made in Scotland, where the painting is now.

William Schupbach

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Jacinto Regalado,

Picart was an engraver, but in this case he only designed the image, as indicated by the delin. after his name (for delineavit, which means he was the draughtsman). It was engraved by someone else (whose name is at lower right, followed by sculp. for sculpsit). Thus, the painting is after an engraving after Picart.

Note that the title is written in six languages at the bottom of the print, obviously because the work was meant to circulate in several countries.

Jacinto Regalado,

The Rijksmuseum uses Gilliam, but Willem is also used for the engraver.

Jacinto Regalado,

Does the collection know when this picture came into its possession?

The original suggestion that this is salvage from some sort of long-closed (or at least reformed!) mental institution/hospital is a good one, but perhaps more likely to have been one in Scotland or somewhere at least well north: it's 'altarpiece' size so might be from a chapel.

Martin Hopkinson,

If from Scotland, it is likely that it came from a Catholic institution
The Cathoiic church there was putting together a basic record of its paintings for internal use in the 1980s

Jacinto Regalado,

The subject and artistic source have been established. Presumably there was no response from the collection as to when this entered its holdings, but since the acquisition method is unknown, the date is probably unknown as well. Thus, this appears ready to close.

Jacinto Regalado,

That is possible, Kieran, since such religious engravings were often used in more than one publication. What is definite is that the engraving under discussion appeared in an illustrated Bible published by Pieter de Hondt in The Hague in 1728, which was obviously meant for export and use beyond the Netherlands.

Martin Hopkinson,

The setting of buildings is similar in a number of compositions by the London based Huguenot painter Louis Cheron 1675-1725 who worked closely with engravers see Francois Marandet. Louis Cheron ..., Musee des Beaux Arts de Caen, 2021, but the figure style is totally unlike his, and very much inferior. This work seems to combine two different styles and its sources have come from two different artists.

Jacinto Regalado,

It is conceivable that Picart, on whose drawing the engraving was based, may have made his drawing after a painting by someone else, but there is no indication of that in the relevant print. Thus, the title here obviously needs to be changed, and while the picture can still be listed under unknown artist, a note could be added like "The picture is after an engraving by Gilliam van der Gouwen after a drawing by Bernard Picart, published in an illustrated Bible in 1728."

Jacinto Regalado,

No, Louis, the paralytic would not have been convulsing requiring restraint nor expelling a demonic vapour.

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