The Wedding Feast, by Eugène Burnand 1908 ©Christian Art
Gospel of 11th October 2020 - Matthew 22:1-10
Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people, 'The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a feast for his son's wedding. He sent his servants to call those who had been invited, but they would not come. Next he sent some more servants. "Tell those who have been invited" he said "that I have my banquet all prepared, my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, everything is ready. Come to the wedding." But they were not interested: one went off to his farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his servants, maltreated them and killed them. The king was furious. He despatched his troops, destroyed those murderers and burnt their town. Then he said to his servants, "The wedding is ready; but as those who were invited proved to be unworthy, go to the crossroads in the town and invite everyone you can find to the wedding." So these servants went out on to the roads and collected together everyone they could find, bad and good alike; and the wedding hall was filled with guests.'
Reflection on the Engraving
Our artist today, Eugène Burnand, did not like the religious illustrations that he was familiar with at the turn of the 20th century. He found most of them too pious and not very engaging. He felt he could make an important contribution to religious art by providing illustrations for religious texts that depicted scenes from real life to reinforce the everyday relevance of the stories and message of Christ. As an artist working in the Realist style, he used places and characters he knew. He sets a realistic scene, and we are invited to be part of it.
Our engraving is taken from a series of pictures published in 'Les Paraboles' (The Parables) in 1908. It became very popular and was constantly reprinted. The book features 32 parables and 76 illustrations, each in a separate chapter with text taken directly from Bible. I love this engraving because of its realism. The faces of the people are almost faces we know; the setting is church-like; the table is reminiscent of the Last Supper; the father is standing upright with authority; the darker figure of the son reflects that He is preoccupied, and dark days are coming; the parable is a foretelling of what will happen to The Son; both His hands are placed on the table - almost ready to be crucified on the wood…
There is no-one sitting at the side of the table from the viewer's vantage point. But the table is dressed, plates ready. We are all called and invited to attend the banquet… but which of us will give a total 'yes' and attend the feast?…
Tags: Christian Art Today, Patrick van de Vorst, Eugène Burnand
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