Art Collections Online
The Parable of the Blind
CUYP, Benjamin Gerritsz (1612 - 1652)
Media: oil on canvas
Size: fr. 76.5 x 70.5 cm
Acquired: 1952; Bequest; Gwendoline Davies
Accession Number: NMW A 30
Collection: The Davies Sisters Collection
Two blind beggars stagger through the landscape, their blindness symbolic of human ignorance and folly. ‘If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into a ditch’ warns the Biblical parable (Matthew 15:14). Benjamin Cuyp specialized in scenes of peasant life and Biblical subjects. Here he addresses the spiritual conflicts of this turbulent time. He was the uncle of the more famous landscape artist, Aelbert Cuyp.
This work is currently on display:
Gallery 3
National Museum Cardiff, level 4
Stairs up
Stairs down
Lift
Leave a comment