1890_Raising_of_Lazarus_van_Gogh.txt

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Vincent van Gogh 1853 – 1890
The Raising of Lazarus

oil on canvas (50 × 65 cm) — 1890
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

This work is linked to John 11:43

This is the only painting by Vincent van Gogh with a biblical subject. It shows Lazarus just after Jesus raised him from death. Lazarus was the brother of Mary and Martha, in whose house Jesus liked to stay. The Bible has it that Jesus performed the miracle out of respect for the conviction of the sisters that their brother would not have died had he been around. But it was also annoyance about their lamenting that stimulated him.

Van Gogh was staying in a mental hospital in Saint-Rémy when he painted this work. It is based on an etching by Rembrandt that his brother Theo had sent him. Van Gogh left Jesus out of the picture and focused on Lazarus and the two sisters. Some think Lazarus' face is a self-portrait, because of the beard.