Pere Marquette and the Indians, Wilhelm Lamprecht

Pere Marquette and the Indians, Wilhelm Lamprecht

The painting recalls the year 1673, when Father Jacques Marquette—a Jesuit missionary and explorer after whom Marquette University is named—was in the midst of an expedition in the Great Lakes and Mississippi River system. The French Jesuit, having been assigned to conduct missionary work in the area, lived among various Great Lakes tribes for nine years. In the painting Marquette is depicted sharing a canoe with two Miami Indian guides, who have led him from the Fox River to the Wisconsin River and eventually to the Mississippi River. A female figure on the far left of the composition is wrapped in a long scarf and holds a small child, evoking traditional depictions of the Virgin Mary. The painting presents a vision of reciprocity and dialogue among the Indigenous Peoples of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Valley, and Father Marquette.