Artwork
The Parable of the Mote and the Beam
The Parable of the Mote and the Beam is an oil painting by the Early Baroque Italian artist Domenico Fetti. It dates from 1619 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
As a religious painting from 1619, the work reflects Counter‑Reformation interests in didactic art that combined clear iconography with emotional immediacy.
The Parable of the Mote and the Beam depicts a biblical scene from Matthew 7:3‑5, showing a man attempting to remove a tiny speck from another’s eye while a large wooden beam protrudes from his own. This visual allegory conveys the moral lesson against hypocrisy, urging self‑examination before judging others. Fetti renders the narrative with a single figure, emphasizing the exaggerated beam to highlight the absurdity of the gesture.
As a religious painting from 1619, the work reflects Counter‑Reformation interests in didactic art that combined clear iconography with emotional immediacy. The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds the oil on panel, underscoring its significance within early Baroque religious art.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1619 by Domenico Fetti, this religious work is an oil painting applied on a panel support. The composition measures 61.3 centimeters in height and 44.1 centimeters in width. As a panel painting from the early seventeenth century, the work utilizes oil pigments to render the biblical Parable of the Mote and the Beam, depicting human figures within a narrative setting.
The selection of a wooden panel rather than canvas reflects common practices for smaller-scale devotional images of this period. While specific details regarding the artist's brushwork, surface condition, or conservation history are not provided in the available records, the fundamental material construction is established as oil on panel.
History & Provenance
The Parable of the Mote and the Beam by Domenico Fetti is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, with inventory number 1975.1.168. The painting, dated 1619, measures 61.3 cm in height and 44.1 cm in width and is executed in oil on panel. The work has not been recorded in major temporary exhibitions in the provided sources.
Overview
Domenico Fetti, an Italian Baroque artist, completed The Parable of the Mote and the Beam in 1619. This oil painting depicts a scene from the biblical parable, illustrating the act of scrutinizing another's minor flaws while overlooking one's own significant shortcomings. The work is currently housed in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Domenico Fetti (also spelled Feti) (c. 1589 – 16 April 1623) was an Italian Baroque painter who was active mainly in Rome, Mantua and Venice.
- Saint Paul Preaching in Athens
Saint Mark and Saint Luke
The Annunciation
Jacob and Rachel
The Virgin and Child among angels in the clouds with Sts John the Baptist and Jerome, after Paolo Veronese’s painting formerly in S. Francesco della Vigna, Venice
Saints Peter and Paul
Peter's vision of a sheet with animals
Three Camaldolese Monks in Meditative Prayer
Pentecostés
Scene from Ancient History
Abraham Welcoming the Three Angels
Polycrates and the Fisherman