Tobias and the Angel
Jean Tassel (Langres 1608 – Langres 1667)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1634 - 1636
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
711 x 889 mm (28 x 35 in)
Place of origin
Naples
Order this imageCollection
Stourhead, Wiltshire
NT 732130
Caption
As told in the Book of Tobit, Tobias goes on a journey from Nineveh to Media, to collect money at the behest of his blind father who was fearful of his imminent death. He is accompanied by sheep, a laden donkey, his dog and his guardian, the archangel Raphael (who did not actually reveal himself as such until the end of the journey). Tobias is being shown the way which will pass by the River Tigris where he later catches the fish, whose entrails cure his future wife’s madness as well as Tobit’s blindness. Probably painted by the artist in Italy, possibly to commemorate the travels of a family’s son, it shows the influence of his Neapolitan contemporaries.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Tobias and the Angel by Jean Tassel (Langres 1608 - Langres 1667), 1634-36. Accompanied by sheep and a laden donkey on the left and his dog by his side, a young man, Tobias [Jacob was old and with 'withered thigh'] in a orange cloak and blue robe and an Angel in a golden cloak and white robe, with large wings, stand in a rocky landscape. The archangel Angel Raphael [Jacob wrestled with an angel] gesticulates to the left showing the young man the way in the landscape beyond towards the River Tigris [Egypt if Jacob]. To the right, two men, one seen from behind are loading a mule. This biblical subject prefigures the angel showing John the Evangelist the new Jerusalem from The Book of Revelation, 21:10-27. It was probably painted by the artist in Italy, under the influence of his Neopolitan contemporaries between 1634 - 1636.
Provenance
Acquired by Henry Hoare II, the ‘Magnificent’ (1705 – 1785); given to the National Trust along with the house, its grounds, and the rest of contents by Sir Henry Hugh Arthur Hoare, 6th Bt (1865 – 1947) in 1946.
Credit line
Stourhead, The Hoare Collection (National Trust)
Makers and roles
Jean Tassel (Langres 1608 – Langres 1667), artist previously catalogued as attributed to Pier Francesco Mola (Coldrerio 1612 – Rome 1666) previously catalogued as manner of Andrea di Leone (1610 - 1685) previously catalogued as attributed to Italian (Neapolitan) School