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Maker Once Known; Heemskerck, Maerten van (after)
The Homecoming of Tobias; no. 9 in a series of 10: The Story of Tobias Le retour de Tobie; no 9 d'une série de 10 : Le livre de Tobie
1556 1556

The Homecoming of Tobias serves as the penultimate plate in a series of ten prints made after designs by Maerten van Heemskerck illustrating the Book of Tobit. Upon seeing Tobias returning home, Anna runs out of the house to meet her son and embrace him. With a sense of relief on her face, she wraps her arms around Tobias’s neck. In this print, Tobit stands below the entryway on the right. He holds a walking cane in one hand and places the other onto the shoulder of a young boy. The artist diverges from the biblical account in depicting this younger figure, who is not mentioned at all in chapter eleven of the Book of Tobit. Nevertheless, the boy offers guidance to the blind Tobit who longs to be reunited with his son. Behind Tobias, the Archangel Raphael points in the direction of Sarah who rides into Nineveh on her horse and is now accompanied by an entire cortege. Though further back in the composition, the two men standing next to Sarah, the horse she is mounted on and Tobias’s dog, all turn their heads toward her as a means to underline her presence and introduce her as the newest member of Tobias’s family.

Maker Once Known; Heemskerck, Maerten van (after)
Heemskerk, Netherlands 1498-Haarlem, Netherlands 1574 Heemskerk, Netherlands 1498-Haarlem, Netherlands 1574
The Homecoming of Tobias; no. 9 in a series of 10: The Story of Tobias Le retour de Tobie; no 9 d'une série de 10 : Le livre de Tobie
1556 1556
Engraving, state 1 of 1 Gravure, état unique
overall: 20 cm x 24.7 cm
Purchase, Bader Acquisition Fund, 2010 Achat, Fonds d’acquisition Bader, 2010
53-046.038

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