Christ Healing the Sick

Artist Washington Allston (American, 1779–1843)

Date1813

Mediumoil on laminated millboard

DimensionsBoard: 73 × 102.9 cm (28 3/4 × 40 1/2 in.)
framed: 87.9 × 117.6 cm (34 5/8 × 46 5/16 in.)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Terms

Object number1920.91

Label TextDuring his second stay in London (1811-18), Allston produced this unfinished study, having observed Benjamin West’s complete version in the National Gallery. Based on a biblical subject from the Christian New Testament, the scene boasts an awestruck crowd witnessing a miracle performed by Jesus Christ. A man and his attendants seek healing as they form a triangular arrangement and lower themselves at the feet of Christ, who stands at the apex with outstretched arms. Allston intended to crown this work with luminous glazes of paint, but eventually abandoned it, claiming that an artist could never capture Christ’s likeness. Despite its incomplete state, Christ Healing the Sick reveals Allston’s creative process and grandiose artistic ambitions while abroad.ProvenanceLeft by the artist to his wife, Martha Remington Dana; from her, the painting descended to her niece, Ruth Charlotte Dana; Henrietta Channing Dana Skinner, Doll & Richards, Boston MA (according to letter from Doll & Richards, Aug. 26, 1920).

On View

Not on view