In his interpretation of the Old Testament subject (Genesis 32: 24–32), Moses van Uyttenbroeck situates Jacob and the angel in the right foreground to emphasize the river landscape. His selection of an Italianate setting is driven by the Biblical account: Jacob sends his family across the ford Jabbok before being joined unexpectedly by an angelic stranger. Their wrestling match is terminated only by Jacob’s request for a blessing. Uyttenbroeck, who never travelled to Italy, likely came to know of Annibale Carracci’s landscapes with small figures through Dutch painters who made the journey.