Full Record |
| Title |
Tobias and the Angel |
| Alternative Title |
Landscape with Scenes from the Story of Tobias and the Angel |
| Collection |
Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead |
| Artist |
Attributed to Grimmer, Jacob (South Netherlandish painter, born 1525-1526, died before 1590)
Previously attributed to Valckenborch, Lucas van (Flemish painter and draftsman, born probably after 1535, died 1597) |
| Date |
1567 (?) (dated) |
| Description |
In this beautiful painting by the Flemish painter Jacob Grimmer, two scenes from the Apocryphal Book of Tobit are depicted. Tobias, and the Archangel Raphael are travelling to collect money owed to Tobias' blind and dying father. On the way, a fish jumps out of the river Tigris to devour them, but they catch the fish, and on the recommendation of Raphael, with its liver, heart and gall bladder they restore the sight of Tobias' father, and save his future wife from bewitchment. The works of Jacob Grimmer, a contemporary of Pieter Brueghel the Elder, and influenced by him, are now relatively rare, and almost all landscapes or winter scenes. |
| Current Accession Number |
TWCMS:C189 |
| Former Accession Number |
SAG 397 |
| Inscription |
front cr '1567'(?) |
| Subject |
religion (Tobias); landscape; figure; animal (fish) |
| Measurements |
52 x 80 cm (estimate) |
| Material |
oil on panel (hardwood) |
| Acquisition Details |
Bequeathed by J. A. D. Shipley, 1909. |
| Principal Exhibitions |
Dutch and Flemish 16th and 17th Century Paintings from the Shipley Collection, Alan Jacobs Gallery, London, (touring) 1979, cat. no. 10. |
| Publications |
Catalogue of the Shipley Collection, 1917, no. 397 without attribution as Dutch Landscape; Tobit and the Fish; Catalogue of the Shipley Collection, 1921, no. 397 without attribution as Dutch Landscape; Tobit and the Fish; Drinkwater, N., Annual Report of the Shipley Art Gallery and Saltwell Park Museum 1949/50 as attributed to Lucas van Valckenborch; Catalogue of the Shipley Collection, 1951, no. 397 as Lucas van Vlackenborch; Greindl, E., Jacob Grimmer, Vienna, 1972, pp. 11-12, no. 47, p. 23 ill. pl. IV; Wright, C., Dutch and Flemish 16th and 17th Century Paintings from the Shipley Collection, Alan Jacobs Gallery, London, 1979, cat. no. 10 as Landscape with Scenes from the Story of Tobias and the Angel. |
| Notes |
Having been previously attributed to Lucas van Valckenborch by Sir Alec Martin and Martin B. Asscher, the current attribution to Jacob Grimmer was made by Christie's in 1974, and was supported by Christopher Wright in 1979. |
| Rights Owner |
The Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead (Tyne and Wear Museums) |
| Author |
Elizabeth van der Beugel |
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