The Mystery of Life
Artist
Carl Marr
(American, 1858 - 1936)
Date1879
CultureAmerican
MediumOil on canvas
ClassificationPaintings
Provenancefirst seen by John Ringling November 30, 1928; American Art Association sale, New York (no. 94), 1929; purchased by John Ringling; bequest to The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, 1936
Credit LineBequest of John Ringling, 1936
Object numberSN408
Born in Milwaukee in 1858, Carl Marr trained first in Wisconsin and then in Germany. This painting, also titled The Wandering Jew, belonged to the Metropolitan Museum of Art prior to its purchase by John Ringling. It depicts the legendary figure who, after taunting Jesus, is doomed to walk the earth until the Second Coming. Marr dramatically contrasts the two figures: the aged wanderer, loosely sketched in among the dark crags, who longs for death but cannot have it, and the delicately painted young woman, bathed in moonlight, whose life has been extinguished far too soon.
On View
On viewLocation
- Museum of Art, Gallery 21, Wall North
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