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21
Wilhelm Marstrand
b. Copenhagen 1810, d. s. p. 1873
"Parablen. Den store Nadver". The Parable of the Great
Supper. Religious scene from Luke chapter 14:16-24.
Unsigned. Oil on canvas. 96 x 142 cm.
Literature: Karl Madsen, "Wilhelm Marstrand", 1905 p. 315 pp.
Gitte Valentiner, "Wilhelm Marstrand", 1992 p. 147 pp.
Otto Marstrand, "Wilhelm Marstrand", 2003 p. 193 pp.
During a stay in Sorø, where Marstrand was commissioned to
portray B. S. Ingemann, the Hymn Writer and Clergyman, Marstrand
went to a service where "The Parable of the Great Supper"
was the text of the day.
The painting here is a preliminary work for the large painting
(190 x 280 cm) now in the Statens Museum for Kunst (The Danish
National Gallery). It took Marstrand about 10 years to complete
the painting. It was bought by the museum when it was first
exhibited at Charlottenborg in 1869. People were carried away by
the way he represented the topic. The smaller version here is a finished
painting very similar to the version in the museum.
St. Luke's Gospel tells us the story about a rich man who invites
his friends for dinner. Everyone has an excuse not to come. It
makes him angry and he asks his servants to go into town and
invite the poor, the blind and other disabled people for dinner.
Inspiration for the composition of this painting is "Levi's Feast"
by Paolo Veronese in Venice.
The painting is dominated by a hall supported by Corinthian columns.
The host welcomes his guests, among others a poor shepherd
and a blind helped to the table by a child. The dregs of society
are enjoying the well-provided tables. A mother and her
children are seen at a table to the left and to the right is another
mother with all her children inspecting the delicacies. Music is
played and there is a nice view of the market place and the
mountains in the background.
Wilhelm Marstrand wanted to depict "The ideal love of mankind".
It is a kind of testament: showing his humanistic outlook
through the painting. DKK 250.000 / € 34.000
38 BRUUN RASMUSSEN TRÉSOR