Christ Receiving the Children
c. 1655
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
100.3 × 135.2 cm (39 1/2 × 53 1/4 in.); Framed: 120.4 × 153.7 cm (47 3/8 × 60 1/2 in.)
Classification
oil on canvas
Department
Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
9672
Art Historical Context
In the heart of the Art Institute of's European Painting and Sculpture collection hangs *Christ Receiving the Children*, captivating oil on canvas by French Baroque artist Sébastien Bourdon, painted around 1655. Measuring nearly 100 by 135 cm, this substantial work exemplifies the grandeur of 17th-century religious painting, with its rich oils allowing Bourdon to achieve luminous effects and deep shadows that draw viewers into the sacred scene. The composition depicts a tender moment from the Gospels (Mark 10:13-16), where Jesus welcomes children despite disciples' objections, emphasizing hum...
About the Artist
Sébastien Bourdon · 1616–1671
Sébastien Bourdon (1616–1671) was a French Baroque painter of remarkable versatility and restless ambition, whose career carried him from the workshops of Paris to the courts of Rome and Stockholm before he returned to France to become a founding member of one of Europe's most important artistic institutions. Born on 2 February 1616 in Montpellier into a Protestant family, Bourdon was apprenticed ...