Description of the picture:
Resurrection of the daughter of Jairus – Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov. 1871. Oil on canvas. One hundred seventy three x two hundred eighty cm
A popular biblical story states that Jesus, in the company of his faithful apostles – Peter, John and James – raised the twelve-year-old girl, the only child of the synagogue of Jairus, by faith. The picture of the master just depicts an episode when Christ commands the girl to get out of bed, taking her хэнд and extending his right хэнд over her. At the feet of the bed, a mother froze in a prayer position, Jesus’ disciples and the frightened, desperately hoping for a miracle, father of the child crowded at the threshold. According to biblical tradition, Jesus told everyone to leave the room, and parents to feed the risen girl, without telling anyone what had happened.
The canvas depicts a spacious room in a stone dwelling, which immediately indicates to us the social status of the girl’s father – Jairus. He is far from poor, since he can afford to have such a dwelling and a rather richly decorated room. On the floor of neatly laid smooth stone slabs by the bedside, the patient lies a beautiful motley carpet in burgundy-golden tones with an intricate pattern. There is not much furniture in the room – this is the girl’s bed, a table covered with a rich tablecloth at her head, an octagonal stool with interesting legs resembling a stylized dovetail, and a low pedestal under the window at the entrance to the room. The window is obscured by a red curtain so that bright daylight does not disturb a sick child. Above the foot of the bed, in the wall there is a shallow and small niche in which various vessels stand – it acts as a shelf or hanging cabinet in this ancient dwelling.
The girl’s bed decoration attracts the most attention. According to him, it is clear that her parents love her very much and do not skimp on expensive things. At the head of the bed is a very large, voluminous cushion of thin white canvas, on which lies a piece of colored fabric, most likely a towel. Under the child’s head there is a large white pillow, due to which the upper part of her body is raised quite high. It is covered with several rich and expensive bedspreads – another, obviously woolen, white with wide inserts of woven ornament in burgundy tones, peeps out from under the silky upper into a blue-gold wide transverse strip.
The pale skin and white shirt of the girl contrasts with the dark figures of the adults surrounding her. Only in the center of the picture is standing Jesus Christ looking bright and noticeable thanks to his red tunic and colored cloak.
With all the richness of the color scheme and numerous details, the artist managed to create an organic, integral image that amazes us with the spirituality and power of true faith, which raises even the dead."