15 Works, June 27th. is Reyer van Blommendael’s day, his story, illustrated with footnotes #174
The Good Samaritan, c. 1665
104.1 x 147.3 cm
Oil on canvas
Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Queen’s University, Kingston
The parable of the Good Samaritan is a didactic story told by Jesus in Luke 10:25–37. It is about a traveler who is stripped of clothing, beaten, and left half dead alongside the road. First a priest and then a Levite comes by, but both avoid the man. Finally, a Samaritan comes by. Samaritans and Jews generally despised each other, but the Samaritan helps the injured man. Jesus is telling the parable in response to the question from a lawyer, “And who is my neighbour?” whom that should be loved. Jesus answers his question in who is his neighbour, but also tells him to love his neighbour.
The parable has inspired painting, sculpture, satire, poetry, and film. The colloquial phrase “good Samaritan”, meaning someone who helps a stranger, derives from this parable, and many hospitals and charitable organizations are named after the Good Samaritan. More on the Good Samaritan
Reyer Jacobsz van Blommendael (27 June 1628–23 November 1675) was a Dutch Golden Age painter from Haarlem.