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Two women in patterned garments sit at attention during a church service.
Vespers
Two women in patterned garments sit at attention during a church service.
Two women in patterned garments sit at attention during a church service.
Vespers, Gari Melchers, c. 1892, oil on canvas, Telfair Museum of Art, Savannah, Georgia.

Vespers

Artist (American, 1860 - 1932)
Datec. 1892
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsCanvas: 47 1/2 × 38 1/4 inches (120.7 × 97.2 cm)
Framed: 58 3/4 × 49 3/4 × 4 inches (149.2 × 126.4 × 10.2 cm)
Sight: 47 1/4 × 38 inches (120 × 96.5 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase in honor of Holly Koons McCullough with funds provided by the Gari Melchers Collectors’ Society and Dale and Lila Critz
Object number2011.9
On View
On view
CopyrightThe images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextVespers portrays all the hallmarks of Gari Melchers’s early work: rural Dutch subject matter, a vibrant and colorful palette, and an interest in decorative pattern and texture. Melchers portrayed the Dutch villagers as hard-working, strong, and devout, and his pictures tapped into a nostalgic yearning for traditional rural life during a time of rapid industrialization. This painting was originally owned by Walther Rathenau (1867-1922) of Berlin, an industrialist, writer, and politician who founded the German Democratic Party.