Henryk Siemiradzki and Christ and The Samaritan Woman

'Christ and The Samaritan Woman' (1890) by Henryk Siemiradzki; Lviv National Art Gallery, Lviv, Ukraine

I had never heard of Polish painter Henryk Siemiradzki, born on 15 November 1843 and died on 23 August 1902. In fact, I don't know any Polish painters. He was a 19th century artist who is best remembered for his monumental paintings. His art teacher was a former student of Russian painter Karl Briullov. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg and went to Rome where he permanently settled. Many of his paintings are depictions of pastoral scenes from antiquity, or of biblical or historical scenes. His large-scale canvasses are to be seen in the major museums of Poland, Russia and Ukraine. Today's religious painting caught my eye because of the beautiful light.