Christ and the Woman of Samaria at Jacob's Well

Maker John Linnell (British, 1792 - 1882)

ClassificationsPAINTINGS

Date1828

Mediumoil on panel

Dimensionspanel: 9 15/16 × 7 15/16 in. (25.2 × 20.2 cm.) frame: 14 1/4 × 12 1/4 × 1 3/4 in. (36.2 × 31.1 × 4.4 cm.)

DescriptionThis painting portrays a Biblical story from the Gospel of John and shows the protagonists of the story, a woman from Samaria and Christ at the well.

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

Status

Not on view

Label TextLinnell’s art was profoundly influenced by his Christian faith. In this painting, the artist portrays the key moment in a biblical story from the Gospel of John. While on his journey to Galilee, Christ stops to rest beside Jacob’s well in Samaria. There, he encounters a woman and asks her for a drink of water. While some Jews were hostile toward Samaritans, Christ offers her the gift of salvation, comparing it to water that quenches thirst eternally. Linnell places the well, the central metaphor in this story, in the center of the composition.

Bibliography

British paintings at the Huntington

Object number66.55