The Marriage Feast (The Parables of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ)
After Sir John Everett Millais British
Engraved and printed by Dalziel Brothers British
Not on view
It took Millais seven years to design twenty images inspired by New Testament Parables for the Dalziel Brothers, and the resulting prints are considered pinnacles of wood engraved illustration. The artist wrote to his publishers, "I can do ordinary drawings as quickly as most men, but these designs can scarcely be regarded in the same light—each Parable I illustrate perhaps a dozen times before I fix [the image]." After completing a design, Millais transferred it to a woodblock coated with "Chinese" white for skilled engravers to carve. Finally, he reviewed proofs, and final adjustments were made before the final printing.
The Parable of the Marriage Feast appears in Matthew 22: 1-14, and Millais represents the moment when a guest who failed to wear suitable clothes is ejected. Pre-Raphaelite ideals shaped the combination of detailed naturalism and down-to-earth imagery to produce a work distinctly different than most religious art of the period.
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