Christ Blessing Little Children

Charles Lock Eastlake 1793 - 1865

Summary

Biblical scene, of Jesus blessing small children. He is seated in the centre of a bare room with a stone floor, surrounded by men and women bringing their small children and babies forward for him to bless. A young woman kneels before him, her child on his lap. Jesus has one arm around the child, the other he extends towards the gathering on the right, in whose direction he has turned his head. Behind the kneeling woman, a young child is seated on the floor, draped in white fabric, holding a flower stem in her hands. She looks away from the viewer at people gathered around Jesus.

Display Label

Christ Blessing Little Children 1839 Charles Lock Eastlake 1793-1865 Oil on canvas This painting was first exhibited at the Royal Academy with the following lines from Matthew's Gospel: And the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me. One of the children presents a disciple with a flower. Wary of the new tendency for sensationalism in art, one critic felt Eastlake had redeemed painting 'from the too just reproach of vulgarism.' The artist later became President of the Royal Academy and Director of the National Gallery. This painting was once owned by Henry McConnel, a Manchester cotton magnate and art collector. Gift of James Worthington 1886.1