High-quality print – Ralli

Theodore Ralli, Le Pain Bénit (After the Mass), from the Greek Collection, in a wooden frame

This painting in the A. G. Leventis Gallery, which went on display in 1895 at the official annual Paris Salon, depicts an interior setting in an Orthodox Christian church while the priest is administering the consecrated bread to the faithful in front of the iconostasis. Of the two main female figures in the foreground, the younger one, a lithe girl in traditional Greek costume, is supporting the elderly one, who walks with the help of her stick. The light, coming from the left, accentuates the fine colour palette that the artist has used for their garments. The background, on the contrary, is darker, establishing an evocative ambiance that resonates with the sanctity of the setting. Architectural elements, icons, frescoes and ritual objects are all rendered