Jacob Draws Water for Rachel's Animals (Engraving, Met-Objekt 6100)
Original title: Jacob Draws Water for Rachel's Animals (Jacob abreuve le troupeau de Rachel)
kurzbeschreibung
Claude Mellan made this engraving after the Old Testament passage in which Jacob draws water for Rachel's flocks. Undated, the print measures 38.4 by 42.6 cm and brings together a group of people and animals at a well in a rural setting.
Description
A man leans over the well to fill a bucket. At the right, a seated woman raises a long staff; at the left, another woman stands holding a staff of her own. A child sits on the ground looking toward the water, while farther off a man leads a camel. The figures wear traditional garments, and fine lines and hatching run across the whole view.
Context
The print belongs to the 17th century, a period when biblical subjects were taken up often in art. Mellan, a French engraver, was known for his precise line work. His source is the story in Genesis 29, where Jacob meets Rachel at the well.
Impact
The engraving has a quiet, storytelling mood. Because the image is kept entirely in shades of grey, the meeting of the figures and the details of the landscape come forward. Clear contours and careful hatching give the arrangement a sense of balance and harmony.
Technique
For an engraving, lines are cut into a metal plate and the plate is then printed onto paper. Mellan used fine hatching to model light and shadow and to give the image depth. The monochrome palette of greys follows from this printing method.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)