Gospel according to Luke 10 · Listening, service and hospitality

In the house of Bethany, Mary listens to Christ while Martha works in service; painters oppose and reconcile contemplation, domestic work and welcome.

The episode of Martha and Mary is recounted in the Gospel according to Luke. Martha receives Jesus into her house and devotes herself to the many tasks of the service. Her sister Mary sits at Christ's feet to listen to his word. Marthe complains of remaining alone at work, but Jesus replies that she worries about many things and that Mary has chosen the best part. Tradition has often read the scene as an opposition between active life and contemplative life. Painting has often read the scene as an opposition between active life and contemplative life. Painting has often read the scene as an opposition between active life and contemplative life. Painting has often read the scene as an opposition between active life and contemplative life. Painting has often read the scene as an opposition between active life and contemplative life. Painting has often read the scene as an opposition between active life and contemplative life. Painting has often read the scene as an opposition between active life and contemplative life. Painting has often read the scene as an opposition between active life and contemplative life. Painting has often read the scene as an opposition between active life and contemplative life. Painting has often read the scene as an opposition between active life and contemplative life. Painting has often read the scene as an opposition work. Others overturn the hierarchy. In Velazquez and Pieter Aertsen, utensils, fish, vegetables or cooking gestures occupy the foreground, while the biblical scene seems rejected at the bottom or reflected. Vermeer reduces the figures to a calm and monumental encounter. Tintoretto animates the dialogue through bodies and diagonals. Caravaggio, in Martha and Mary Magdalene, shifts the theme towards persuasion and conversion between two women. The works chosen allow us to compare silence, domestic abundance, mise en abyme and tension between the sisters. The works chosen allow us to compare silence, domestic abundance, mise en abyme and tension between the sisters. The works chosen allow us to compare silence, domestic abundance, mise en abyme and tension between the sisters. The works chosen allow us to compare silence, domestic abundance, mise en abyme and tension between the sisters. The works chosen allow us to compare silence, domestic abundance, mise en abyme and tension between the sisters. The works chosen allow us to compare silence, domestic abundance, mise en abyme and tension between the sisters. The selection "Mary and Martha" notably compares Christ in M Martha and Mary - Velazquez. His reading favors composition.

Marthe prepares the house, Marie prepares the listening: painting transforms their difference into a dialogue between visible gestures and inner attention.