Tobit and Anna with the Kid
{{Short description|1626 painting by Rembrandt}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox artwork
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| image = File:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 154.jpg
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| artist = Rembrandt
| year = 1626
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| catalogue = Bredius 486
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| museum = Rijksmuseum
| city = Amsterdam
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| accession = SK-A-4717
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Tobit and Anna with the Kid, also titled Tobit Accusing Anna of Stealing the Kid, and Tobit Praying for Death, is an early oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age painter Rembrandt, signed and dated 1626. It is now in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
Subject
The subject of the painting is taken from the deuterocanonical Book of Tobit from the Old Testament.Kitson 1982, plate 1.
The painting shows the moment between Tobit and his wife Anna, early in the narrative, when Tobit's faith in his wife's honesty is shaken. Tobit has been blinded in an accident, and to keep the family from poverty Anna works for the neighbours, for whom she makes cloth and sews clothes, and is paid in kind for her work. One day she receives a kid as wages and brings it home. Hearing the young animal's bleating, Tobit fears that his wife has stolen the animal and accuses her of committing a sin. Anna sharply denies the accusations, and Tobit begins to pray to God for death as release from suffering: "that I may be dissolved, and become earth".Tob. 2–3.
In the biblical narrative, the old couple's fortunes are eventually restored by their son, Tobias, with the aid and guidance of the angel Raphael, and Tobit is cured of his blindness by a magic fish caught by Tobias and Raphael in the Tigris.
Description
The painting is signed, at lower left, "RH·1626".Rijksmuseum. 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".Schwartz 1985, p. 44.
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. Tobit is deep in prayer to God, asking for death. At his feet is a small dog, symbolizing Tobit's fidelity and trust in God's justice.
File:Dou 1614 map of Leiden.jpg, 1614]]
Like most of Rembrandt's first Leyden period, the painting is rich in colour and human emotion. For Michael Kitson, the work is an early and excellent example of Rembrandt's "lifelong fascination with old people". The artist's mother may have posed for the character of Anna.Kaufman 1981, p. 9.
Background
While the scene of Tobias and the Angel travelling through the desert was already an established subject in European art, Dutch Golden Age painters were also interested in the other episodes of the Book of Tobit. 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 pious gratitude before the winged Raphael; and Rembrandt himself later painted Raphael's heavenward departure in The Archangel Raphael Leaving Tobias' Family.
Sources
{{multiple image
| align = right
| direction = vertical
| width = 200
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| image1 = Tobit en Anna met het bokje. NL-HlmNHA 53012278.JPG
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| caption1 = Tobit and Anna with the Goat (Tobit accusing Anna), {{Circa|1620}}
| image2 = Penitent H. Peter, Willem Isaacsz. van Swanenburg, after Abraham Bloemaert, 1609 - 1611.jpg
| alt2 =
| caption2 = Penitent Saint Peter, {{Circa|1609–1611}}
}}
In painting the story of Tobit and Anna, Rembrandt relied on an engraving of the same scene by Jan van de Velde, engraved around 1620 after a painting by Willem Buytewech.Schwartz 1985, p. 44.
Willem van Swanenburg's print of the penitent Saint Peter after a painting by Abraham Bloemaert has also been cited as a source for the figure of Tobit. Indeed, Rembrandt repeatedly copied the work of other artists; he had many of them in his own private collection.Michałkowa 1960, p. 21.
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 Dmitry Shchukin (Moscow). In 1917, it was sold by the art dealer E. J. Goudstikker (Amsterdam), and it was in the collection of Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza (Schloss Rohoncz, Lugano; Villa Favorita, Castagnola) from 1956 to 1979. In 1979, the painting was acquired by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
Related works
File:Pieter Lastman - The Angel Raphael Takes Leave of Old Tobit and his Son Tobias - Google Art Project.jpg|Pieter Lastman: The Angel Raphael Takes Leave of Old Tobit and his Son Tobias, 1618
File:Abraham Bloemaert - Landscape with farmstead, peasants and the exodus of Tobias with the angel (1630).jpg|Abraham Bloemaert: Landscape with the Exodus of Tobias and the Angel, 1630
File:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 160.jpg|Rembrandt: Anna and the Blind Tobit, {{Circa|1630}}
File:Rembrandt - The Philosopher in Meditation.jpg|Rembrandt: Philosopher in Meditation, 1632
File:Tobias Healing his Father by Rembrandt - Staatsgalerie - Stuttgart - Germany 2017.jpg|Rembrandt: Tobias Healing his Blind Father, 1636
File:Rembrandt De aartsengel verlaat Tobias en zijn gezin. 1637.jpg|Rembrandt: The Angel Raphael Leaving Tobias' Family, 1637
File:Die Frau des Tobias mit der Ziege - Gemäldegalerie Berlin - 5249845.jpg|Rembrandt and workshop: Tobit and Anna with the Kid, 1645
File:Rembrandt van Rijn - Tobit en zijn vrouw (1659).jpg|Rembrandt: Tobit and his Wife (Tobit and Anna), 1659
See also
References
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Sources
- Kaufman, Elizabeth Elias (1981). Rembrandt. New York: Book Sales. p. 9. {{ISBN|0-89009-372-5}}.
- Kitson, Michael (1982). [https://archive.org/details/rembrandt0000kits_q1h2/page/32/mode/2up?q=Anna&view=theater Rembrandt]. Oxford: Phaidon Press. pp. 15, 18, plate 1.
- Michałkowa, Janina (1960). Rembrandt. Warsaw: Wiedza Powszechna. p. 21.
- Schwartz, Gary (1985). [https://archive.org/details/rembrandthislife0000schw_z2i1/page/44/mode/2up?q=Anna&view=theater Rembrandt: His Life, His Paintings]. Viking. pp. 44, 47, 52, 230.
- [https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/SK-A-4717 "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}}.
- [https://rkd.nl/en/explore/images/record?query=rembrandt+tobit&start=7 "Gerrit Willemsz. Horst"]. Netherlands Institute for Art History (RKD). Retrieved 20 April 2023.
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