Three Marys at the Tomb

Art Historical Context

"Three Marys at the Tomb" presents a tender moment from the Christian story of the Resurrection. The etching shows the three women approaching Jesus’s empty tomb, where they encounter angels who announce his rising. Through the tags highlighting angels and women, the composition centers on their expressions of surprise and reverence, inviting viewers to reflect on themes of faith and discovery. Created as an etching, the work demonstrates the printmaking process in which acid bites into a metal plate to produce fine, expressive lines. This medium allowed religious imagery to reach wider audiences, carrying devotional subjects from churches into private homes and collections during the period. Now part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Department of Drawings and Prints, the piece entered the collection in 1930 through the Harris Brisbane Dick Fund. Its trimmed dimensions of roughly 17 by 11 inches preserve the intimate scale typical of etchings meant for close, personal viewing.

About the Artist

Jacques Bellange · 1570–1616

Jacques Bellange (c. 1575–1616) was a French artist and printmaker active in the independent Duchy of Lorraine, now part of France. Believed to have been born in the Bassigny region south of Nancy, his early life and training remain sparsely documented, with no records of specific teachers or mentors. He first appears in historical records in 1595 at La Mothe, where he took on an apprentice, sugge...