Ruth and Boaz, by Walter Crane, RWS (1845-1915). Signed and dated 1863. Oil on canvas. 25.5 x 33.5cm. (10 by 13¼in.). Courtesy of Sotheby's. [Click on the image to enlarge it.]
The inscription on the stretcher indicates that this was painted by the very young artist (still only eighteen) at the behest of Dr William Charles Hood, "'physician superintendent' director of the Bethlem Hospital for the Criminally Insane" since 1852, and that it was a gift for his steward at Bethlem, George Henry Haydon. Sotheby's helpful note continues, "These were two men of enlightened vision who sought to provide humane conditions in which the inmates of the hospital might live, and by attempting to understand the mental state of their patients." The Old Testament Book of Ruth was popular among Crane's contemporaries, and Ruth's story might well have seemed particularly appropriate to these men. Here was a case where God's purposes were being worked out through unexpected ways, in challenging situations: widowed, but remaining devoted to her mother-in-law Naomi in difficult circumstances, Ruth would remarry, and by her second husband Boaz would become the grandmother of Jesse and the great-grandmother of King David.
Ruth's story has a romantic flavour to it, and here Boaz looks less like a landowner in charge of his labourers than a knight in shining armour come to rescue the maiden in distress — a gleaner who, for her part, looks modestly downward. Boaz has given orders for Ruth and Naomi to be given provisions, and here they seem almost like a couple on a picnic, with bread and drink unwrapped from a white cloth in front of them. Boaz dwells on Ruth's face with a thoughtful expression: he may already see that their future lies together. The surrounding grass and stray heads of grain (which Boaz has asked his men to leave, on purpose, for this young gleaner) are shown in crisp Pre-Raphaelite detail, as are the shelves of rock to the right. There is a fairytale air about the scene, and a keen sense of its colourful decorative appeal, both qualities that look forward to Crane's own future in illustration and design. — Jacqueline Banerjee
Links to Related Material
- William Dyce's Ruth Amid the Alien Corn [Ruth and Boaz] (early 1850s)
- David Wilkie Wynfield's Ruth and Boaz (1879)
- Philip Calderon's Ruth and Naomi (1886)
Bibliography
Ruth and Boaz. Sotheby's. Web. 22 December 2024.
Created 22 December 2024