Biblical Scene with Tobias
unknown (Italian School)
Basic information
- ID
- Ж-1018
- Author
- unknown (Italian School)
- Name
- Biblical Scene with Tobias
- Date of creation
- 17th c.
- Technique
- tempera painting
- Material
- wood tempera
- Dimensions (diameter, cm)
- 64.5
Additionally
- Type
- painting
- Genre
- religious
- Provenance
- Collection of Leon Pininski
- Exposition
- Potocki Palace
Information about author
Object description
A scene from the life of Tobiah, a biblical character from the Book of Tobit, unfolds against the backdrop of a cityscape. It depicts an episode when Tobiah, with the help of Archangel Raphael, cures his father of blindness. Tobit, the father of Tobiah, whose name in Hebrew means "God is good", is the main character of the eponymous deuterocanonical book of the Old Testament, an Israelite from the tribe of Naphtali. He was righteous and devout, yet for his good deeds, he faced persecution from the Assyrian government and endured a series of trials, including blindness. The Archangel Raphael, while helping Tobiah, instructed him to catch a fish in the Tigris River and said: "Apply the fish gall to his eyes, and the medicine will make the white scales shrink and peel off from his eyes; then your father will have sight again and will see the light of day" (Tobit 11:8). The artwork depicts an archangel holding Tobiah by the hand while gazing at a fish. Tobiah, in turn, is pointing at Raphael. The elderly Tobit, Tobiah's father, is seated, leaning on a staff. Next to him is his wife, Anna, who is gazing at the Archangel Raphael with admiration.
Legal regulation
Borys Voznytskyi Lviv National Art Gallery
