The Woman of Samaria

William Dyce (1806 - 1864)
The Woman of Samaria
Oil on panel
342mm by 484mm
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

Seated by a well in Samaria, Jesus talks with a local woman.

In itself this represents a reconciliation between the Jews and the Samaritans, who were long-term enemies.

The woman seeks water to drink, Jesus speaks of the flowing water as a sign on eternal life from God.

William Dyce (September 19, 1806, Aberdeen, Scotland—February 14, 1864, London) was a distinguished nineteenth century British artist, one of the pre-Raphaelites.

As a painter, he preferred to paint religious subjects.

He was particularly impressed by Pinturicchio’s frescoes in the Piccolomini Library in Siena, as well as by the works of Perugino.

Today, he is perhaps best known for his decoration of the Queen's Robing Room of the then newly completed Palace of Westminster (1847).

But his accomplishemts were not restricted to art.

Artrenewal provides a full biography of all his accomplishments