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Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of "The Scarlet Letter" (1850), regarded this painting, which William Walters commissioned from Merle in 1859, as the finest illustration of his novel. Set in Puritan Boston, the novel relates how Hester Prynne was publicly disgraced and condemned to wear a scarlet letter "A" for adultery. Arthur Dimmesdale, the minister who fathered her child, and Roger Chillingworth, Hester's elderly husband, appear in the background.Merle's canvas reflects some of the same 19th-century historical interest in the Puritans as Hawthorne's book, a fascination that reached its peak with the establishment of Thanksgiving as a national holiday in 1863. By depicting Hester and her daughter, Pearl, in a pose that recalls that of the Madonna and Child, Merle underlines "The Scarlet Letter"'s themes of sin and redemption.
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- Page
- 2
- Source index
- 0
- Type
- photo
- Media ID
- bc7c1f59537a1da5
- Size
- unknown
Document data
- ID
- 25737
- Core
- obj
- Type
- drawing
DTO data
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"title": "The Scarlet Letter",
"description": "Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of \"The Scarlet Letter\" (1850), regarded this painting, which William Walters commissioned from Merle in 1859, as the finest illustration of his novel. Set in Puritan Boston, the novel relates how Hester Prynne was publicly disgraced and condemned to wear a scarlet letter \"A\" for adultery. Arthur Dimmesdale, the minister who fathered her child, and Roger Chillingworth, Hester's elderly husband, appear in the background.Merle's canvas reflects some of the same 19th-century historical interest in the Puritans as Hawthorne's book, a fascination that reached its peak with the establishment of Thanksgiving as a national holiday in 1863. By depicting Hester and her daughter, Pearl, in a pose that recalls that of the Madonna and Child, Merle underlines \"The Scarlet Letter\"'s themes of sin and redemption.",
"provenance": "Commissioned by William T. Walters (through George A. Lucas as agent), Baltimore, March 9, 1861 [1]; inherited by Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1894; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.[1] The Diary of George A Lucas, p.104, commissioned from the artist, on November 1, 1859.",
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Document identity
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Document source metadata
{
"id": "25737",
"sourceUrl": "https://purl.thewalters.org/art/37.172",
"contentType": "drawing",
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"title": "The Scarlet Letter",
"description": "Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of \"The Scarlet Letter\" (1850), regarded this painting, which William Walters commissioned from Merle in 1859, as the finest illustration of his novel. Set in Puritan Boston, the novel relates how Hester Prynne was publicly disgraced and condemned to wear a scarlet letter \"A\" for adultery. Arthur Dimmesdale, the minister who fathered her child, and Roger Chillingworth, Hester's elderly husband, appear in the background.Merle's canvas reflects some of the same 19th-century historical interest in the Puritans as Hawthorne's book, a fascination that reached its peak with the establishment of Thanksgiving as a national holiday in 1863. By depicting Hester and her daughter, Pearl, in a pose that recalls that of the Madonna and Child, Merle underlines \"The Scarlet Letter\"'s themes of sin and redemption.",
"provenance": "Commissioned by William T. Walters (through George A. Lucas as agent), Baltimore, March 9, 1861 [1]; inherited by Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1894; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.[1] The Diary of George A Lucas, p.104, commissioned from the artist, on November 1, 1859.",
"date": "1861",
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Document source extras
{
"inscriptions": "[Signature] At lower right: HUGUES MERLE",
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Page context
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