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| + Giuseppe Maria Crespi, The Marriage Feast At Cana Italian, c. 1686 Chicago, Art Institute |
"There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee,
and the mother of Jesus was there.
Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding.
When the wine ran short,
the mother of Jesus said to him,
“They have no wine.”
And Jesus said to her,
“Woman, how does your concern affect me?
My hour has not yet come.”
His mother said to the servers,
“Do whatever he tells you.”
Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings,
each holding twenty to thirty gallons.
Jesus told them,
“Fill the jars with water.”
So they filled them to the brim.
Then he told them,
“Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.”
So they took it.
And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine,
without knowing where it came from
— although the servers who had drawn the water knew —,
the headwaiter called the bridegroom and said to him,
“Everyone serves good wine first,
and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one;
but you have kept the good wine until now.”
Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs at Cana in Galilee
and so revealed his glory,
and his disciples began to believe in him.
John 2:1-11
(Gospel Reading for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Cycle)
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|
The Church’s Christmas Season came to an official end last Sunday with celebration of the Baptism of the Lord. This week in the readings for Cycle C we begin reading about the public ministry of Jesus, which begins with this miracle, performed at one of life’s most ordinary events, a wedding feast, performed, perhaps prematurely, at the behest of Mary, His mother.
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| + Jan Steen, The Marriage Feast At Cana Dutch, c. 1665-1670 Dublin, National Gallery of Ireland |
Theologically, the account is
loaded with multiple layers from which we can examine it: there is the element of an epiphany,
in which Jesus’ power is revealed; there is the change of the element of water
into a choice wine which forecasts the greater change of bread and wine into
Body and Blood; there is the presence of the Second Person of the Trinity which
imparts of blessing to the human event of a wedding leading to the recognition
of marriage as a sacrament; there is the role of Mary in gently
nudging Him to be who He is and her trusting prompt to the servers “Do whatever
He tells you”, knowing that her observation will be acted upon.
All of these possible threads and others
besides have been expounded on by preachers and theologians for centuries. But what of artists? How have their works imagined this miraculous
event?
Early images, say from the Carolingian period through the early Renaissance, often depicted the miracle at Cana as part of a series of images that appear within the same frame.
_1246_1260_Morgan_m730.013r_composite.jpg) |
| + Scenes from the Life of Jesus: The Flight into Egypt, the Finding of Jesus in the Temple and the Wedding Feast at Cana From the Hours of Guiluys de Boisleux French (Artois), c. 1246-1260 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 730, fol. 13r |
Since this is the first miracle of Jesus recorded anywhere in the Gospels and a third type of ephiphany it frequently appears with the Presentation of Jesus, the Flight Into Egypt, the boy Jesus in the Temple or His baptism by John the Baptist.
_1204-1219_Morgan_m739.020v_compoaite.jpg) |
| + Scenes from the Life of Jesus: The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, the Wedding Feast at Cana and the Baptism of Jesus From a Book of Hours German (Franconia), c. 1204-1219 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 739, fol. 20v |
_986-1001_BNF_Latin%209448_26v_2.jpg) |
| + The Baptism of Christ and the Miracle of Cana From the Troparium-Prosarium-Graduale St. Salvatoris of Prüm German (Prüm), c. 986-1001 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Latin 9448, fol. 26v |
_11th-12th%20c_BNF_Latin%209438_24r_2.jpg) |
| + The Baptism of Christ and the Miracle of Cana From the Sacramentary of St. Stephan of Limoges French (Limoges, St-Martial), 11th-12th Century Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Latin 9438, fol. 24r |
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| The Baptism of Christ and the Wedding at Cana From a Psalter English (Oxford), c. 1200-1220 London, British Library MS Royal 1 D X, fol. 3v |
%201200-25_BNF_Nouvelle%20acquisition%20latine%201392_4.jpeg) |
| + The Wedding Feast at Cana and the Baptism of Christ From a Psalter French (Paris), c. 1200-1225 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS NAL 1392, fol. 3r |
However, this is not always true. Others combine the miracle at Cana with another scene or scenes from the later life of Christ, including:
Other miracles
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| The Baptism of Christ, The Miracle at Cana, Raising the Daughter of Jairus and Healing a Possessed Woman From a Historien Bibel German (Swabia), c. 1375-1400 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 268, fol. 27r |
Other scenes from the life of Christ
In the two images shown below, the scene of Cana is combined with the scene of the overturning of the tables of the money changer in the Temple, an event from a much later period in the life of Jesus.
_14th%20c_BNF_Francais%20152_385r_2.jpg) |
| + Scenes from the Life of Christ: The Baptism, The Miracle at Cana, The Expulsion of the Money Changers from the Temple From a Bible historiale of Guiard des Moulins French (St.-Omer), 14th Century Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Francais 152, fol. 385r |
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| Attributed to Hand B of the Munich Psalter, The Wedding at Cana and the Expulsion of the Money Changers English (Oxford), c. 1200-1225 London, British Library MS Arundel 157, fol. 6v |
Old Testament precedents
_1435_1445_Morgan_m649.003r_composite.jpg) |
| + Gold Scrolls Group, Scenes from the Life of Christ with Old Testament Prefigurations: The Marriage Feast at Cana and Moses Striking the Rock; The Baptism of Christ and the Healing of Naaman From Typologische tagerelen uit het leven van Jezus Flemish (Bruges), c. 1435-1445 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 649, fol. 3r In this manuscript the Old Testament precedent for the Miracle at Cana is that of Moses striking the rock to bring forth water during the Isrealites time in the desert. Below that the Baptism of Christ has its prefiguring type in the Healing of Naaman from leprosy by Elisha. |
The Scene as Part of a Narrative Cycle
Moving on toward the point at which the subject stands alone
are works that portray the miracle of Cana as a discrete picture within a
series of pictures illustrating the life of Christ. This kind of work occurs in the great high
Medieval/early Renaissance cycles of fourteenth-century Italy at Assisi, Padua
and Siena, by Torritti, Giotto and Duccio.
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| Jacopo Torritti, The Marriage Feast at Cana Italian, 1290 Assisi, San Francesco (Upper Church) |
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| Giotto, The Marriage Feast at Cana Italian, c. 1304-1306 Padua, Arena Chapel |
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| Duccio, The Marriage Feast at Cana Italian, c. 1308-1311 Siena, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo |
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| Giusto de'Menabuoi, The Marriage Feast at Cana Italian, c. 1376-1378 Padua, Baptistry |
One charming Siennese cycle, the Meditationes vitae Christi, owned by the Bibliotheque
nationale de France in Paris (1330-1340, MS Italien 115), contains what amounts to a comic strip version of the
Bible as page after page shows all the steps of the story, from the time the
servants lay the table, through Mary’s recognition of the problem to the end,
when everyone, including Jesus, contentedly sits sipping the good wine.
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| The Table is Set, the Banquet Begins From Meditationes vitae Christi Italian (Siennese), c. 1330-1340 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Italien 115, fol. 79v |
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| The Servants Alert Mary to the Diminishing Wine, Mary Tells Jesus From Meditationes vitae Christi Italian (Siennese), c. 1330-1340 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Italien 115, fol. 80v |
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| Mary Tells the Servants to "Do whatever He tells you" From Meditationes vitae Christi Italian (Siennese), c. 1330-1340 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Italien 115, fol. 81v |
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| Jesus Explains to the Servants What They Must Do From Meditationes vitae Christi Italian (Siennese), c. 1330-1340 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Italien 115, fol. 82r |
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| A Servant Presents a Cup of the New Wine to the Host, while the Other Servants Stand By with the Wine Jars From Meditationes vitae Christi Italian (Siennese), c. 1330-1340 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Italien 115, fol. 82v |
But, another stream of independent images of the miracle by itself
had been developing as well, in sculpture as well as in painting and in other
parts of the Christian world as well as in Europe.
 | ||
| Carolingian Ivory, The Marriage Feast at Cana German, c. 820-870 London, British Museum
|
_1070-1090_Morgan_)m780.017r_2.jpg)
The earliest images present the bare bones of
the narrative. There is Jesus, Mary and
the servers (or at least the water jars), sometimes the bride and groom appear
as well.
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| The Marriage Feast of Cana From a Coptic Gospel Book Egypt (Damietta), c. 1178-1180 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Copte 13, fol. 224v |
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| Workshop of Pacino da Bonaguida, Jesus Instructs the Servants From Scenes from the life of Christ and the life of the Blessed Gerard of Villamagna Italian (Florence), c. 1315-1325 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS 643, fol. 6r |
 |
| The Marriage Feast of Cana From the Sermons of Maurice de Sully Italian (Milan or Genoa), c. 1320-1330 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Francais 187, fol. 6r This image is a bit unusual in depicting the miracle taking place outside the house. |
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| The Wedding Feast of Cana From the Lives of The Virgin and of Christ Italy (Naples), c. 1350 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Francais 9561, 142v |
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| Master of the Parement de Narbonne, The Wedding FEast of Cana From the Tres belles heures de Notre-Dame de Jean de Barry French (Paris), c. 1380 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Nouvelle acquisitions latine 3093, fol.68 |
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| Jean Colombe, The Wedding Feast of Cana From a Vita Jesu Christi by Ludolphe of Saxony France (Bourges), c. 1475-1500 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MD Francais 177. fol. 91r |
However, beginning around 1500, the
number of people increase to include not only the bride, groom and servers, but their families, the guests, the musicians, until one could say that, if not a cast of thousands, there is at least a cast of scores. No doubt the rise of panel painting on both wood and canvas allowed artists to work to a larger scale and offered more space for invention than the pages of manuscripts ever could.
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| Master of the Catholic Kings, The Wedding Feast of Cana Spanish, c. 1495-1497 Washington, National Gallery of Art |
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| Juan de Flandes, The Wedding Feast of Cana Flemish, c. 1500-1504 New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art |
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| Gerard David, The Marriage Feast at Cana Flemish, c. 1500 Paris, Musée du Louvre |
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| After Hieronymous Bosch, The Marriage Feast at Cana Dutch, 1561 Rotterdam, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen |
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| Paolo Veronese, The Marriage Feast at Cana Italian, 1563 Paris, Musée du Louvre |
The height of this trend is the great
painting, dated 1562, by Veronese now in the Louvre. Over 130 people appear in this picture,
according to the commentary on the Louvre website.1
No doubt due to the fame of the Veronese painting and a contemporary
work by Tintoretto this “cast of hundreds” approach held sway.
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| Tintoretto, The Marriage Feast at Cana Italian, 1561 Venice, Church of Santa Maria della Salute |
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| Frans Francken II, The Marriage Feast at Cana Flemish, 1642 Toulouse, Musée des Augustins |
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| Mattia Preti, The Marriage Feast at Cana Italian, c. 1655-1660 London, National Gallery |
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| Juan de Valdes Leal, The Marriage Feast at Cana Spanish, 1660 Paris, Musée du Louvre |
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| Jan Steen, The Marriage Feast at Cana Dutch, 1676 Pasadena, Norton-Simon Foundation |
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| Sebastiano Ricci, The Marriage Feast at Cana Italian, 1712-1715 Kansas City, MO, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art |
It wasn’t until the nineteenth century that artists began to
simplify their presentation of the miracle, gradually stripping away the added details and
returning to the minimalist narrative of the early works. Once again Jesus can be seen to be performing the miracle of changing water into wine.
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| Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, The Marriage Feast at Cana German, 1819 Hamburg, Kunsthalle |
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| James Tissot, The Marriage Feast at Cana French, c. 1886-1894 New York, Brooklyn Museum |
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| Plate, The Marriage Feast at Cana French (Sarreguemines, Lorraine), c. 1900 Sarreguemines, Musée de la Faience |
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| Atelier Charles Lorin, The Marriage Feast at Cana French (Chartres), c. 1910-1914 New York, Church of St. Jean Baptiste |
Eventually, in a work like that of the 1953
print by Stanley Spencer even the figure of Jesus seems to have disappeared and
the title applied to what appears to be an ordinary wedding dinner, dominated
by a multi-tiered cake.
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| Stanley Spencer, The Marriage at Cana English, 1953 Swansea, Glynn Vivian Art Gallery |
© M. Duffy, 2016. 2025 Selected images refreshed.
+ Indicates a refreshed image.
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