Tobias Returning Sight to His Father
Original title: Tobias Returning Sight to His Father
kurzbeschreibung
Where many prints of the period treat the story of Tobias as a bare figure study, Antoine de Marcenay de Ghuy's 1755 etching sets the biblical healing within a clearly articulated interior. The French artist chose drypoint etching to render the scene; the sheet measures 31 x 24.1 cm.
Description
An elderly man, plainly blind, sits at the front while a winged angel touches him and opens his eyes. A winged child kneels beside him, looking up at the blind man. Other figures stand in a stone room with a window; a dog lies on the floor at the left. The arrangement feels balanced, with the angel and the blind man forming the focal point. Light falls from above through the window, brightening the grayscale action.
Context
Antoine de Marcenay de Ghuy, born in 1724 and dead in 1811, was a French engraver whose reputation rested on reproductive prints. In 1755, when printed copies after old masters were in strong demand, he produced this etching after a painting by Rembrandt of the same scene. Marcenay de Ghuy executed the sheet as an independent work that circulated in collections.
Impact
Calm and symmetry govern the layout and underline the sacred event. The light entering through the window creates a solemn tone. The precise rendering of figures and space invites a close look at the print.
Technique
In etching, the drawing is incised into a metal plate, which is then bitten with acid. The linework is fine and exact, as is typical of the process. Varying etching stages and the density of the hatching produce the gradations of gray.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)