Read on Twitter
Our Work of the Day is Caravaggio's The Taking of Christ.
The painting depicts the events of Holy Thursday, but did you know that it also has another Easter connection, which is very particular to Ireland and the events of the Easter Rising?
#NationalGalleryIRL #Caravaggio
The painting depicts the events of Holy Thursday, but did you know that it also has another Easter connection, which is very particular to Ireland and the events of the Easter Rising?
#NationalGalleryIRL #Caravaggio
A native of Charleville, Co. Cork, Dr Marie Lea-Wilson's life was turned upside down in 1920 when her husband, a Royal Constabulary Office called Percival Lea-Wilson, was killed in Gorey, in retribution for his mishandling of prisoners in the aftermath of the 1916 Rising.
An extremely devout woman, she's reported to have bought the painting as a source of comfort in Scotland in 1924.
She went on to train as a doctor at @tcddublin, graduating in 1928, one of only three women in the class, and working until she was 83! https://www.nationalgallery.ie/art-and-artists/caravaggio-25-irish-connection
She went on to train as a doctor at @tcddublin, graduating in 1928, one of only three women in the class, and working until she was 83! https://www.nationalgallery.ie/art-and-artists/caravaggio-25-irish-connection
She forged a strong connection with the Dublin Jesuit community and received great spiritual support from them, which may explain her gift of the painting to them in the 1930s.
How it came to be on our walls is another fascinating chapter in this tale! https://www.nationalgallery.ie/art-and-artists/caravaggio-25-how-did-masterpiece-caravaggio-end-dublin-dining-room
How it came to be on our walls is another fascinating chapter in this tale! https://www.nationalgallery.ie/art-and-artists/caravaggio-25-how-did-masterpiece-caravaggio-end-dublin-dining-room
If you have the time, we'd highly recommend listening back to this podcast recorded here at the Gallery in November 2018, when two of the main players in its rediscovery sat down with the late Marian Finucane to reminisce on how it all came about! https://soundcloud.com/ngireland/the-story-of-the-unveiling-of-caravaggios-the-taking-of-christ-at-the-national-gallery-of-ireland
