Rebecca at the Well
Sebastiano Galeotti (Florence 1676 -Mondovì 1741/6)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1709
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
2190 x 2800 x 40 mm
Place of origin
Italy
Order this imageCollection
Basildon Park, Berkshire
NT 266917
Caption
The story of Rebecca at the well comes from the Book of Genesis. The aged Abraham, wanting a wife for his son Isaac, sent his servant Eliezer to his homeland of Mesopotamia to find a suitable woman. Rebecca, shown here in a pale mauve dress with a gold cloak, generously offers water to Eliezer proving herself to be worthy bride for Isaac. Lord and Lady Iliffe purchased large paintings such as this to hang in their home at Basildon Park, sparking a revival of interest in Italian religious painting of the eighteenth century.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Rebecca at the Well by Sebastiano Galeotti (Florence 1676 -Mondovì 1741/6), signed, on stone in foreground with monogram, 1709. Also signature and date on reverse of canvas. Rebekah (or Rebecca), wearing mauve dress and orange cloak, stands to left of well beside Abraham's seated servant, one of his camels behind him, her water pitcher in front of them. To the right, a child with large pitcher. Set in stormy wooded landscape and framed by pillar on left. The biblical scene is told in the Old Testament's Genesis 24. Eliezer has been sent to Mesopotamia to find a wife for Abraham's son, Issac and when he arrived in Nahor in Chaldea he prayed that whoever gave him and his camels water would be an eligible woman. Rebecca is seen offering Eliezer on the left of the group. Elaborately carved heavy gilt frame
Provenance
Collection of Baron Andrea Franceschi by 1724; Collection of Ignazio Hugford by 1766. By 1826 in the Milltown Collection and hanging in the Music Room at Russborough House, Ireland; Purchased with the house by Captain Denis Daly in 1931 and in 1937 hanging in the Saloon; Sold Hamilton & Hamilton, Residue Sale of Fine Art, Russborough, 21 October, 1952 [Lot 146]; Purchased by A. J Tooth and sold via Colnaghi, to Lord & Lady Iliffe; Lord Basildon Park, Berkshire; July 1953. Purchased by the National Trust for Basildon Park, 1978.
Credit line
Basildon Park, The Iliffe Collection (National Trust)
Marks and inscriptions
On stone in foreground, ?signed with monogram, ?1709.
Makers and roles
Sebastiano Galeotti (Florence 1676 -Mondovì 1741/6), artist
References
O'Boyle 2010: Aidan O'Boyle, 'The Milltown Collection: reconstructing an eighteenth-century picture hang.' Irish Architectural and Decorative Studies, 13, 2010, pp.30-59. Fitzgerald 1937. Brian Fitzgerald, 'Russborough - II Co. Wicklow The Seat of Captain Denis Daly', Country Life, vol. 81, no. 2089, 1937, pp.120-126, p.125 Neale 1818-23, 1824-9 John Preston Neale, Views of the Seats of Noblemen and Gentlemen, 1818-23, 6 vols; 2nd series, 1824-9, Vol, III