AMPHORAE
Work made specifically for the “Noces de Cana” exhibition, Chapelle Paraire, Rodez, France
The wedding at Cana has been portrayed in paintings for centuries, during the Renaissance by such greats as Veronese and Tintoretto, later by Flemish artists such as Jan Cossiers and Maerten de Vos, and by many others from then until now. All these works of art have many things in common, Jesus, Mary, dinner tables, guests, servants, grand settings and of course the six jars, in which the miracle occurred.
An amphora (Greek: Αμφορέας, English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container of a characteristic shape and size, descending from at least as early as the Neolithic Period. Amphorae were used in vast numbers for the transport and storage of various products, both liquid and dry, but mostly for wine.
In these works I wanted to avoid the cliché of grand settings, depictions of Christ and his family etc and concentrate upon the humble vessels without which the miracle could not have occurred. Without something to put the water in first, there would be nothing to hold the wine.
They came in a huge variety of shapes and sizes as do we humans, and are depicted so in the great works, from simple stoneware to beautifully ornate jars. They are in many ways symbolic of the common man, sometimes overlooked, put to many uses but can, on occasion, rise up and be a vessel for greatness.
