In the story from the New Testament, Christ visits the house of Martha, and while there, her sister Mary listens to what he has to say but Martha continues with her work. Upset that Mary does not help her she complains to Christ who says Mary is doing the right thing by listening to him: the moral being that fulfilment does not come from work alone.
The scene shows interesting details of daily life from 17th century Holland, including baskets with vegetables and laundry – and you can see that Mary and Martha are quite well off, as they have a fine imported Chinese porcelain plate. Sorgh has dressed Mary and Martha in contemporary costume, but Christ is dressed in typical biblical robes, indicting the religious subject matter. The painting may have been an inspiration for Vermeer’s painting of the same subject, painted about ten years later, Rotterdam being only ten miles from Delft, where Vermeer was based.
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Christ in the House of Martha and Mary, by Hendrik Sorgh, 1645. Oil on panel.
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