Mary, sister of Lazarus, Greets Jesus

Mary, Sister of Lazarus, Greets Jesus, painted in 1863 and executed in oil, depicts the episode from John 11 in which Mary falls at Jesus's feet on his arrival at Bethany, before the raising of Lazarus. The year 1863 is significant: it is also the year of Ge's Last Supper, his breakthrough canvas that was exhibited at the Imperial Academy and caused immediate controversy and praise. This work, likely related in period if not in exact subject, shows Ge's sustained engagement with the Gospel of John — the most philosophically and emotionally charged of the four gospels, and the one that most preoccupied him throughout his career. The subject allowed for the depiction of profound grief and faith in physical terms: Mary prostrated at Christ's feet, her sister Martha nearby, the crowd of mourners as witness.

Oil on canvas, the work is likely painted in the academic manner of Ge's early career — careful, resolved, and attentive to the period setting and figure types he researched in Florence and Rome. The central act of prostration gives the composition a strong downward diagonal in Mary's figure contrasting with the upright, contained bearing of Christ. The handling of the grief-stricken female figure against the calm authority of Christ reflects the academic figure-painting skills Ge had honed through years of study.