The Calling of Saint John during the Marriage at Cana

Medieval legend gave the wedding at Cana a bridegroom with a name. He was John, the disciple later called the Evangelist, and some versions made his bride Mary Magdalene. Christ, the story went, called John away from his own wedding feast, and he left the marriage behind to follow him. Jan Vermeyen, working in Mechelen or Brussels around 1530, paints the moment just before the miracle. The beardless young man at the centre of the round table is John, and the young woman beside him is the woman he is about to leave. At the far side Christ answers with open hands. In the foreground the Virgin Mary bends to a servant, her hand on his shoulder, having noticed that the wine has run out. Soon the servants will fill the jars with water. The lute player looking straight out at us may be a portrait of someone Vermeyen knew.