The Angel Departing from the Family of Tobias (1641, Met-Objekt 5304)
Original title: The Angel Departing from the Family of Tobias
kurzbeschreibung
In 1641 Rembrandt etched the farewell of the archangel Raphael from the family of Tobias, a subject drawn from the Book of Tobit. At the instant the angel rises toward heaven with wings spread wide, the biblical narrative tightens into a quiet image of parting. Rembrandt worked the plate in etching and drypoint, and this impression belongs to the rarely printed states of the work.
Description
Tobias, his wife Sara and the children stand in the foreground, turned toward the departing heavenly messenger or watching him go, their clothing following tradition. Raphael hovers at the middle of the sheet, wings outspread, a book in his hands that points back to the family's story. Architecture behind them, a house or a church, gives the event its spatial setting. Subdued light lies over everything and deepens the melancholy that speaks from the figures' gestures and faces.
Context
Working in Amsterdam in 1641, Rembrandt was turning more and more to biblical subjects. The angel's departure, taken from the apocryphal Book of Tobit, is an unusual idea for a picture, and he takes it up in this etching. The print falls in a period when he was experimenting with drypoint to gain delicate tonal values. It is the eighth of nine states, which suggests the plate was carefully reworked.
Impact
A quiet yet perceptibly emotional farewell unfolds before the viewer. Tender lines and subdued light create an intimate atmosphere that makes the sorrow and the blessing of the moment almost tangible. Small details and graduated shading give the print depth and a sense of presence.
Technique
Etching and drypoint together shape this sheet: fine lines and soft, velvety shadows testify to the process. With the drypoint needle Rembrandt achieved nuanced tonal gradations and a lively surface texture. The paper has been trimmed to 10.5 × 15.5 cm, which concentrates the arrangement and heightens the effect of the figures.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)