The Four Evangelists

Artist

Memher Legesse Mengistu (Ethiopian, 1932 – 2009)

Date

1993

Medium

Ink and pigment on parchment

Dimensions

Sheet : 18 1/4 x 13 1/4 in. (46.36 x 33.66 cm)

Credit Line

Gift of Neal and Elizabeth Sobania

Object Number

2018.25.31

Label

Memher Legesse Mengistu was an ordained priest and former church painter who began making art for the overseas tourist market in the 1960s. He specialized in painting on parchment and depicted both religious and secular subjects. This painting of the four evangelists recalls the traditional practice in Ethiopian illuminated manuscripts of inserting portraits of the Gospel writers at the beginning of their texts.