The Foolish Virgins (The Parables of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ)
Medium
Wood engraving; proof
Dimensions
Image: 5 1/2 × 4 1/4 in. (13.9 × 10.8 cm) Sheet: 7 7/16 × 6 3/16 in. (18.9 × 15.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1921
Accession Number
21.68.4(10)
Tags
Art Historical Context
**The Foolish Virgins a wood engraving proof from1864, captures a pivotal moment from one of Jesus Christ's parables in the Gospel of Matthew (25:-13). Designed by Pre-Raphaelite master Sir John Everett Millais masterfully engraved by the Dalziel Brothers it depicts the biblical story of the ten virgins awaiting the bridegroom, with the foolish five scrambling desperately for oil as midnight strikes. Millais's intricate composition, rendered in fine black lines on a modest 5½ × 4¼-inch image, evokes the parable's themes of preparedness and spiritual vigilance, making profound moral lessons acc...
About the Artist
Dalziel Brothers|Sir John Everett Millais (British|British) · 1839 |1823 –1893 |1906
British, active 1839–93|British, Wooler, Northumberland 1823–1906 Herne Bay, Kent