The Spirit Is Pious, But the Eyelids Are Heavy

Today marks the birthday of artist Gari Melchers.

In this painting by Melchers, the congregation of a Dutch church reacts variously to an unseen pastor's sermon. In a pew against the wall two men listen intently, while the parishioners below them seem to daydream. One bows her head in pious slumber as her neighbor watches reproachfully.

Melchers delighted in presenting a vivid slice of ordinary life, both psychological and material. He painted the motto "True and Clear" above his studio door in the Dutch fishing village of Egmond. Critics frequently alluded to his skill, calling The Sermon "the last word of realism in painting."

Source: Richard Murray. The Gilded Age: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum (exhibition text, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 1999).

Pictured top: Gari Melchers, 1860–1932, The Sermon, 1886, oil, 62 5/8 x 86 1/2 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Henry Ward Ranger through the National Academy of Design.

Pictured bottom: Portrait of Gari Melchers, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Peter A. Juley & Son Collection.