Description
Christ and the Woman of Samaria is a late painting by Rembrandt from 1659: Christ sits by a well among the ruins of old arches, a young Samaritan woman in a straw hat draws up a bucket on a chain and listens to him, a landscape with a castle opens on the right, and the disciples approach from afar. The original, oil on canvas, is 60 cm high and 75 cm wide and belongs to the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. We paint it by hand in oil on canvas in 8 landscape sizes, from 52 x 42 to 120 x 95 cm, or to your own measurement, and show it to you in a photograph before dispatch.
| Title: | Christ and the Woman of Samaria |
| Other titles: | Christus en de samaritaanse vrouw · Christ and the Samaritan Woman |
| Painter: | Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669) |
| Year painted: | 1659, Amsterdam |
| Original size: | 60 cm x 75 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | Baroque, Dutch Golden Age |
| Located at: | State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg (inv. GE-714) |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 8 sizes or made to measure |
Christ and the Woman of Samaria – Rembrandt
What does Christ and the Woman of Samaria show?
On the left sits Christ in a dark cloak, speaking with his hand raised. Before him is a stone well, behind which stands a young woman in a red and gold dress with a broad straw hat; on a chain she holds a bucket full of water.
Behind them rise ruined arches and columns overgrown with trees. On the right an evening landscape opens with a castle on a hill, and at the lower right a group of men approaches in the half-light: Christ’s disciples.
What story does the painting tell?
The story from the Gospel of John, chapter 4. Tired, Jesus sits down at Jacob’s well and asks the Samaritan woman who has come for water to give him a drink.
The woman is surprised, because Jews and Samaritans had no dealings with each other, and Jesus offers her living water after which she will never thirst again. When the disciples return, they are astonished that he is talking with her.
What does the painting mean?
It is a painting about a meeting across boundaries: a stranger, a woman, another faith, and yet a conversation. Rembrandt set it in the calm of evening, without drama, with the well as a place where people meet.
Rembrandt returned to this story several times, in drawings and etchings. This painting of 1659 dates from the years when he was 53 and painted more slowly, with a soft, warm light.
Where is the original today?
In the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, inventory number GE-714. It is painted in oil on canvas and measures 60 x 75 cm.
On the wall of the well, at the bottom centre, are the signature and date, barely legible in the half-light.
Christ and the Woman of Samaria or another Rembrandt?
Christ and the Woman of Samaria suits a dining room, a hallway or a place of prayer, for lovers of quiet biblical stories. A similar meeting of mercy appears in The Return of the Prodigal Son, and a miracle from the same Gospel in The Raising of Lazarus.
For a journey at dusk there is The Flight into Egypt, and for Christ with his disciples in a storm The Storm on the Sea of Galilee. Biblical stories and other famous Rembrandt paintings are on the Rembrandt page.
How does our painter paint your Woman of Samaria?
This Rembrandt reproduction catches the soft evening light. In oil on canvas the painter first lays in the dark ruins and the sky, then the light on the woman’s face and dress.
The most delicate parts are Christ’s face in half-shadow and the metallic gleam of the bucket. An oil painting reproduction like this has a warm depth of browns and reds that a paper print lacks.
Which size is right for your room?
In short: 52 x 42 or 60 x 46 cm for a shelf or a narrow wall, 66 x 53 or 73 x 60 cm above a chest of drawers, 85 x 67 and 95 x 75 cm above a sofa, and 105 x 85 and 120 x 95 cm for a larger wall.
There are 8 landscape sizes (width x height): 52 x 42, 60 x 46, 66 x 53, 73 x 60, 85 x 67, 95 x 75, 105 x 85 and 120 x 95 cm. The original is 75 cm wide and 60 cm high, so 73 x 60 cm is almost its size. As a painting for the living room above a sofa, 95 x 75 cm suits well.
Because the painting is dark, hang it near a window or under a light, with its centre about 150 cm from the floor.
Can I choose another size or a frame?
Yes. The original is 5 : 4 in proportion; in that ratio Christ, the well and the disciples in the corner all stay. Tell us the size you want for the Woman of Samaria and we will quote a price and a delivery date.
We send the Woman of Samaria rolled, on a stretcher bar or framed; our workshop in Slovenia prepares every canvas painting. You compare frames for the Woman of Samaria in the 3D application, which is only for that; seeing it on your own wall is a separate service. Dark wood stresses the ruins, antique gold the warm light.
When will the painting be with me?
We paint the Woman of Samaria to order and dispatch it within 15 to 45 working days; the parcel with it travels customs-free across the EU. As soon as the painting is finished we send you a photograph of it; whatever you would like different, we correct, and our returns policy applies to every order.
For a confirmation, a wedding or someone who should choose the size, there is the wall art voucher.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the original Christ and the Woman of Samaria?
In the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, inventory number GE-714.
Which story is the scene from?
From the Gospel of John, chapter 4: Jesus asks the Samaritan woman for water at Jacob’s well.
Who is coming in the right-hand corner?
Christ’s disciples, returning and astonished that he is talking with the Samaritan woman.
When was it painted?
In 1659, when Rembrandt was 53.
Is your Woman of Samaria a print?
No, our Woman of Samaria is a hand-painted copy, brushstroke by brushstroke in oil on canvas.
How big is the original?
It is 60 cm high and 75 cm wide. Our sizes run from 52 x 42 to 120 x 95 cm.
Which size is closest to the original?
73 x 60 cm, almost the size of the original in Saint Petersburg.
Who would like it as a gift?
For a confirmation, a wedding, and anyone who loves quiet biblical scenes.
- Subject: Christ, at a well among ruins, speaks with the Samaritan woman drawing up a bucket.
- Original: 1659, oil on canvas, 60 x 75 cm, State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg.
- Ours: painted by hand in oil on canvas, in 8 landscape sizes from 52 x 42 to 120 x 95 cm or made to measure.
- Worth knowing: Rembrandt also showed this story in drawings and etchings.
