The Four Evangelists, by Jordaens

by Isabella Childs January 07, 2021

men standing together

    This is a portrayal of the Four Evangelists, by Flemish Baroque painter, Jacob Jordaens.

    Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John stand side by side, facing an opened book placed on a table atop a pile of books. The men are positioned such that they look towards the left corner of the painting.

    The evangelist who stands farthest to the left side of the painting appears to be about sixty years old. He has medium skin, dark gray hair on the sides of his head, and a light gray beard. He wears an orange-brown cloak over a gray robe. This evangelist furthest on the left places his right hand on his chin as he looks down at the book on the table. He places his left hand on the shoulder of the evangelist standing in the center of the group of men.

    The evangelist in the center of the painting is depicted as a young man. He has light skin and short, brown hair. He wears a white cloak wrapped around his body. This evangelist crosses his hands at his chest, touching his chin with the index and third fingers of his left hand as he looks down at the opened book on the table.

    The evangelist standing further to the right of the painting, beside the young evangelist, holds his right arm behind the two evangelists closer to the left side of the painting, so that he touches a short red curtain, which hangs behind the four men. This evangelist appears to be about sixty years old. He has thin, white-gray hair and a beard of the same color. He wears a dark brown robe. Of this evangelist’s figure, only his right arm and the top of his chest are visible. He looks down at an opened book, which the evangelist on the right side of the painting holds.

    The evangelist on the right side of the painting appears to be about fifty years old. He has thick gray hair and a beard of the same color. He wears a blue cloak. He holds an opened book with his left hand and a writing quill poised above the book with his right hand. This evangelist furthest to the right side of the painting looks down at the book on the table on the left side of the painting.

    The background of the painting is composed of the red curtain behind the evangelists. There is one cloudy, white and gray piece of sky near the top of the left side of the painting.

    Download this digitally-restored image.




Isabella Childs
Isabella Childs

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