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Barra, Joannes
Tobias catching the Fish; nr. 4 in a series of 4: The Story of Tobias
around 1600-1634

The current work was produced by the Dutch printmaker Joannes Barra, an engraver who made a number of reproductive prints after other artists, including Pieter Stevens and Giovanni Domenico Zapponi. Many of Barra’s engravings show close links to Flemish landscapes of the late sixteenth century. Here, the artist explores the use of light in a landscape setting. Rays of sunshine from the upper right corner pierce through parts of the wooded area of the composition. Accordingly, some of the leaves and tree branches are reduced to contour lines, while others are shaded, and thus are marked by thick, engraved lines. To the left, natural sunlight reveals a river winding its way through shorelines populated by church steeples and a variety of other structures. The subject of this engraving derives from the apocryphal Book of Tobit. The primary action is relegated to the bottom right corner of the composition, giving way to the expansive vista. At the edge of a stream of water, beneath a tree, Tobias cuts up a fish to remove its heart, liver and gall under the guidance of the Archangel Raphael. Tobias holds up the animal’s liver in his left hand, proving he has overcome the large, menacing fish. Tobias’s dog, uninterested by the affair, peacefully rests nearby. The configuration of the terrain attests to the challenging nature of Tobias’s journey to Media.

 
Barra, Joannes
Middelburg, Netherlands 1581–London, England 1634
Tobias catching the Fish; nr. 4 in a series of 4: The Story of Tobias
around 1600-1634
Engraving, state 2 of 3
overall: 18.9 cm x 25.7 cm
Purchase, Bader Acquisition Fund, 2010
53-046.002

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