Parable in Painting: ‘Room in a Dutch House’ and ‘Woman Reading’ by Pieter Janssens Elinga

Abstract

This article proposes the hypothesis that the paintings “A Room in a Dutch House” (late 1660s — early 1670s) and “Woman Reading” (1660) by Delft artist of genre scenes Pieter Janssens Elinga (1623–1682) are paired and in a mutual dialogue and the New Testament parable is told about Martha and Mary, as a symbol of two worldviews — contemplative and effective, spiritual and material. The proposed assumption is mainly justified by comparing biblical texts (the Gospel of Luke, the Epistle of James and others) with the figurative system of paintings examined and sequentially interpreted in the context of emblematic and Protestant thinking. Thus, upon a detailed and comprehensive examination of the painting “A Room in a Dutch House”, the image of Martha appears to be much more complex and paradoxical than at first glance — the imposition of a peculiar Protestant hierotopy of order on the plot canvas reveals a new meaning to the depicted scene. A study of paintings belonging to the beginning of the 17th century and dedicated to the life of Saints Martha and Mary made it possible to discover on the canvases of Elinga both traditional iconographic motifs and a conscious departure from them. Particular attention is paid to the specifics of the creative method of the master and his connection with the trends of the Delft school of art, especially with the work of Pieter de Hooch. In conditions of shortage of scientific material, this work is of scientific value. Thus, the interpretation proposed in the article turns the biblical parable into a link between the studied canvases.