The First Communion

Eugène Carrière

ca. 1896 · Oil on canvas · European Paintings

The first communion marks a child's initiation into the Christian Eucharist, the ritual consumption of consecrated bread and wine. Carrière's muted palette, fluid brushwork, and simplified forms lend an otherworldly aspect to the girl, enveloped in her white communion gown and veil. This painting and several others on the same subject have been associated with a religious triptych that the artist created about 1897 (current location unknown).

Artist

Eugène Carrière

Date

ca. 1896

Medium

Oil on canvas

Department

European Paintings

Credit line

Gift of Chester Dale, 1963