*The three women, who have come to the tomb to anoint the body of Our Lord, see a bright angel through the tomb’s entrance. Artwork by W. Bouguereau.

William Adolphe Bouguereau, (William Bouguereau) (1825-1905)

Le Saintes Femmes au Tombeau/ Three Marys at the Tomb, c. 1890

Oil on canvas

Private collection

Le Saintes Femmes au Tombeau, 1890, translated to The Holy Women at the Tomb, depicts the three Marys, Mary the Mother of James, Mary Magdalene and Mary of Cleophas, at the tomb of the resurrection. The viewer, compositionally, is placed in a prostrated position and looking up first notices the expressions of bewilderment on the central Mary’s face before looking past the three women and into the tomb. The tomb is filled with light and the viewer can only catch a glimpse of the “angel of the resurrection” with his arm raised. This is a very clever arrangement. The viewer feels as though they are there with the Marys and that they have stumbled onto this event, bringing it into the present. This painting was first exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1890, and though a critic after viewing the piece at that time said that Bouguereau “always showed the same thing”, the perspective used in this painting and the overall composition is most original and was a tour de force of perspective and foreshortening; which can be clearly seen in the severe angle of the tomb entranceway. The painting now hangs in the collection of the Musée Royal des Beaux-Arts, Antwerp, Belgium.

**In his 1890 “Three Marys at the Tomb,” Bouguereau evokes the silence of the earth-shattering event of the Resurrection. The soft lights indicate dawn, when three women have come to the tomb of Christ. Even their heavy draperies seem to mute sound. The noise of the condemnation and crucifixion has ended — these mourners seem like a footnote to the story.

This is no ending, however, but a beginning. Our eyes follow the figures to the doorway where the first woman, her back fully toward us, alerts us that something is happening with the swift turn of her head and angular pose.

We lean in to look more closely at the next woman who is kneeling at the doorway. Her face and limbs are suffused with light, her clasped hands and parted lips visible. Following her gaze, we perceive an angel, faint in the opalescent light glowing from the tomb, as he says, “He is not here; for he has been raised.” (Matthew 28:6) Hope surges in our hearts alongside these women.

The last figure, most likely the mother of God, stands closest to the opening of the tomb, swathed in a cobalt robe that resembles a curtain opening to reveal the awesome sight. As she clutches the wall, her face appears overwhelmed with understanding. Our gaze moves from the charity of the first woman carrying her vessel for ablutions, to the hope of the kneeling figure, and our eyes settle on Mary, whose steadfast faith has not been in vain.

Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.  

Dn 7:27