Tobias and the Angel

Description

This series of paintings predominantly tells the Old Testament story of Abraham and Isaac, and each of the canvases treats the interaction of humans and angels. In three works, angels appear to Abraham. However, the narrative of Tobias and the Angel comes from an entirely different book of the Bible. The blind Tobit sends his son Tobias off to collect a sum of money in the distant town of Media, with the angel Raphael accompanying him in disguise as a human. This particular work depicts Raphael overseeing Tobias catching a fish, which would later be used to cure his father's blindness.

Provenance

Possibly Federigo Giovanelli, Venice (Until 1800); Baroness Valerie Groedel, Budapest (?); (Neumann Gallery, Vienna) (By 1933?); Francesco Pospisil, Venice, sold through Alessandro Brass to the Cleveland Museum of Art (1952); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio (1952-)

Tobias and the Angel

Francesco Guardi

1750s

Accession Number

1952.235.2

Medium

oil on canvas

Dimensions

Framed: 70.5 x 90.5 x 6.5 cm (27 3/4 x 35 5/8 x 2 9/16 in.); Unframed: 56.5 x 75.5 cm (22 1/4 x 29 3/4 in.)

Classification

Painting

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund