00:00
/
00:00
Fuijck, Maerten van der
Tobias and the Angel Roasting the Fish Tobie et l'ange grillant le poisson
1663 1663

In his only known history painting, the little-known portraitist Van der Fuijck chose a highly unconventional scene from the Book of Tobit. The text describes how Tobias roasts the fish after having removed its heart, liver and gall as instructed by Azarius (the Archangel Raphael in disguise). Van der Fuijck has the angel attend to the fish while Tobias offers a prayer with upraised hands. He evokes a scene of sacrifice, in which the fish appears to allude to the Catholic Church’s rite of communion and the role of the Eucharist within it, perhaps following the cue of Adam Elsheimer, and aiming at a more specific audience than most other images from the Book of Tobit.

Fuijck, Maerten van der
Den Briel, Netherlands c. 1634-Den Briel, Netherlands 1694 Den Briel, Netherlands c. 1634-Den Briel, Netherlands 1694
Tobias and the Angel Roasting the Fish Tobie et l'ange grillant le poisson
1663 1663
Oil on canvas Huile sur toile
height / width: 106.70 x 119.40 cm; 42.01 x 47.01 in.
Gift of Alfred and Isabel Bader, 1991 Don d'Alfred et Isabel Badert, 1991
34-020.04

Subscribe to our “This Week at Agnes” e-newsletter to stay abreast of events, news and opportunities at the art museum.