Vision de Saint Jean a Patmos

Ethel Isadore Brown, Vision de Saint Jean a Patmos, 1898, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Frances Smyth, 1972.148
Copied Ethel Isadore Brown, Vision de Saint Jean a Patmos, 1898, oil on canvas, 53 7⁄8 x 45 5⁄8 in. (137.0 x 115.8 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Frances Smyth, 1972.148

Artwork Details

Title
Vision de Saint Jean a Patmos
Artist
Date
1898
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
53 7⁄8 x 45 5⁄8 in. (137.0 x 115.8 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Frances Smyth
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Landscape — coast
  • State of being — phenomenon — vision
  • Religion — angel
  • Religion — saint — St. John
Object Number
1972.148
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1972.148

Artwork Description

This painting shows Saint John the Evangelist, who was exiled to the Greek island of Patmos in the first century AD. He had a series of prophecies that inspired him to write the Book of Revelation, predicting the second coming of Christ. Ethel Isadore Brown based this image on John’s description of the angel who told him to write everything down: “I saw seven gold lampstands, and among the lampstands was One like the Son of Man, dressed in a long robe . . . In His right hand He had seven stars; from His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword . . .” (Revelation 1:12-16). This piece, created in 1898, was probably inspired by the fervent religious activity and increasing “millennial visions” around the world as the end of the century approached.