Millais - Die Rückkehr der Taube zur Arche Noah

''The Return of the Dove to the Ark'' is a painting by Sir John Everett Millais, completed in 1851. It is in the Thomas Combe collection at the

Ashmolean Museum The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University of ...

, Oxford. The painting portrays a scene from the Bible. Two of Noah's daughters-in-law nurture the dove that has returned to the Ark bearing an olive branch. This is the second of Millais's paintings with biblical themes, following ''The Eve of the Deluge''. Millais had some intention of producing a "pendant" painting titled ''The Dove's First Flight'', but never did so. Millais's original plan for the painting was to include the figure of

Noah Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...

, as well as including several animals in the background. The final omission of these other figures is thought to have been due to his desire to have the painting ready for the Royal Academy exhibition of 1851. ''The Return of the Dove to the Ark'' was first put on public display at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

in April 1851. Millais was surprised to learn that some Roman Catholics who viewed it believed it to be an allegory for the return of the country to the "true faith". It was praised by John Ruskin and Théophile Gautier, among others. Ruskin was so taken with it that he wished to buy it when he first saw it, but it had already been sold to the collector

Thomas Combe Thomas Combe (1796 – 30 June 1872) was a British printer, publisher and patron of the arts. He was 'Printer to the University' at Oxford University Press, and was also a founder and benefactor of St Barnabas Church, near the Press in Jeri ...

, superintendent of the Clarendon Press, who owned many other

Pre-Raphaelite The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, James ...

works of art.Ashmolean Museum: Collections Online
Accessed 20 March 2013 It passed to the Ashmolean as part of the Combe Bequest in 1893. In 1855, a French satirical magazine, '' Journal pour rire'', printed a cartoon by Bertall parodying Millais's painting.

References

1851 paintings Paintings by John Everett Millais Paintings depicting figures from the Book of Genesis Paintings in the collection of the Ashmolean Museum Birds in art Noah's Ark in popular culture {{19C-painting-stub