Ruth in Boaz's Field

Schnorr painted this in Munich in 1828, newly settled in the Bavarian capital after ten years in Italy, and he built it from drawings he had made there. The story comes from the Book of Ruth. Ruth, a young widow from Moab, is gleaning, gathering the grain the reapers leave behind, to keep her widowed mother-in-law Naomi. Boaz, who owns the field, has heard of her loyalty and told his workers to leave plenty for her. He stands in a deep red cloak, one hand opened toward her, while she holds a sheaf against her hip. Behind them the harvest goes on, and the walls of Bethlehem rise at the far left. The couple would become ancestors of King David, and Schnorr set his initials and the date on a small stone in the path between them.