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Tobit and Anna with the Kid

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Tobit and Anna with the Kid
ArtistRembrandt
Year1626
CatalogueBredius 486
MediumOil on panel
Dimensions39.5 cm × 30 cm (15.6 in × 12 in)
LocationRijksmuseum, Amsterdam
AccessionSK-A-4717

Tobit and Anna with the Kid, also titled Tobit Accusing Anna of Stealing the Kid, and Tobit Praying for Death, is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age master Rembrandt, signed and dated 1626, which currently hangs in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

Subject

The subject of the painting was taken from the apocryphal Book of Tobit from the Old Testament.[1]

The painting concerns itself with Tobias and his wife Anna, showing the moment, early in the narrative, when the man's faith in his wife's honesty was shaken. Tobit had been blinded in an accident, and to keep the family from poverty Anna worked for the neighbours, for whom she made cloth and sewed clothes, and was paid in kind for her work. One day she received a kid as wages and brought it home. Hearing the young animal's bleating, Tobias was terrified that his wife had stolen the animal and accused her of committing a sin. Anna sharply denied the accusations, and Tobias began to pray to God for death as release from suffering: "that I may be dissolved, and become earth".[2]

In the narrative, the old couple's fortunes were eventually restored by their son, Tobias, with the aid of the angel Raphael, and Tobit was cured of his blindness by a magic fish caught by Tobias and Raphael in the Tigris.[1]

Description

Tobit and Anna with the Goat (Tobit accusing Anna), 1603–52. This etching by Jan van de Velde after a design by Willem Pieterszoon Buytewech certainly inspired Rembrandt's oil painting.

The painting is signed, at lower left, "RH·1626".[3] This early work by Rembrandt, painted in the year he turned twenty, is described by art historian Gary Schwartz as "his first truly accomplished painting".[4]

Rembrandt skilfully tells the story, focusing on the most important threads: Anna, still with the goat at hand, has just heard her husband's accusation, which she indignantly denies. Tobias is deep in prayer to God, asking for death. At his feet is a small dog, symbolizing Tobias' fidelity and trust in God's justice. Like most of Rembrandt's first Leiden period, the painting is rich in colour; however, one can already see the artist's ability to show the depth of human emotions.[3] For Michael Kitson, the work is an early and excellent example of of Rembrandt's "lifelong fascination with old people".[1] Rembrandt's mother may have posed for the character of Anna.[5]

Background

While the theme of Tobias and the Angel travelling through the wilderness after finding the magic fish was common throughout European art, Netherlandish painters of the 17th century were also interested in the other episodes of the Book of Tobit.[1] Rembrandt's teacher, Pieter Lastman, had painted a scene from near the end of the story, The Angel Raphael Takes Leave of Old Tobit and his Son Tobias, in which Tobit and Tobias kneel in gratitude before the winged Raphael; and Rembrandt himself later painted Raphael's heavenward departure in The Archangel Raphael Leaving Tobias' Family.[1]

Sources

In painting the story of Tobias and Anna, Rembrandt relied on a copperplate engraving by Jan van de Velde based on a composition by Willem Buytewech.[6] The artist repeatedly copied the work of other artists; he had many of them in his own private collection.[7]

Provenance

The painting was first mentioned on 29 October 1748 in the catalogue of Pieter van Buytene's collection (Oude Koornmarkt, Delft), which was put up for sale. Between 17 and 18 April 1759 it was purchased by Yver at an anonymous sale at an unknown auction house in Amsterdam. From 1905 to 1913 the painting was in the collection of Tschugin (Moscow). In 1917, it was sold by the art dealer E. J. Goudstikker (Amsterdam), and it was in the collection of Baron – (Schloss Rohoncz, Lugano; Villa Favorita, Castagnola) from 1956 to 1979. In 1979, the painting was acquired by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Kitson 1982, plate 1.
  2. ^ Tob. 2–3.
  3. ^ a b c Rijksmuseum.
  4. ^ Schwartz 1985, p. 44.
  5. ^ Kaufman 1981, p. 9.
  6. ^ Schwartz 1985, p. 44.
  7. ^ Michałkowa 1960, p. 21.

Sources

  • Kaufman, Elizabeth Elias (1981). Rembrandt. New York: Book Sales. p. 9. ISBN 0-89009-372-5.
  • Kitson, Michael (1982). Rembrandt. Oxford: Phaidon Press. pp. 15, 18, plate 1.
  • Michałkowa, Janina (1960). Rembrandt. Warsaw: Wiedza Powszechna. p. 21.
  • Schwartz, Gary (1985). Rembrandt: His Life, His Paintings. Viking. pp. 44, 47, 52, 230.
  • "Tobit and Anna with the Kid, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1626". Rijksmuseum. Retrieved 20 April 2023.

Further reading

  • Chudzikowski, Andrzej (1972). Rembrandt van Rijn. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Ruch.
  • Zuffi, Stefano (2011). Rembrandt. (Masters of Art). Prestel. ISBN 978-3-7913-4620-5.
  • "Gerrit Willemsz. Horst". Netherlands Institute for Art History (RKD). Retrieved 20 April 2023.
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