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Wierix, Hieronymus (attributed to)
Tobias Taking Leave of his Parents; No. 3 in a series of 6: The Story of Tobit Tobie prenant congé de ses parents; no 3 d'une série de 6 : Le livre de Tobie
Around 1582-85 v. 1582-1585

In the third plate of this series of prints devoted to the Book of Tobit, Tobias and the Archangel Raphael take leave of the former’s parents. Tobias hugs his father while Raphael tries to reassure Anna that her son will return to her safely after the journey to Media. Behind this primary group of characters, a man and a woman converse with each other. The artist who engraved this work was attentive to conveying certain elements, such as the hair of the male figures and the different feathers that form part of the angel’s wings, with care; however, he also struggled to render the hands of figures with anatomical accuracy. Tobit’s left fingers are particularly long, and though partially hidden, both of Anna’s hands appear to be disproportionately larger than her head. Noticeably, the moment when Tobias cuts open the fish to remove its heart, liver and bile is relegated to the background of the composition. This is rather unusual, since this specific moment in the biblical narrative proved popular among visual artists. Moreover, since the left side of the print is engraved with paler lines, the figures of Tobias and the angel are not immediately apparent in this subsidiary scene. Instead, the viewer is drawn toward the peak of the mountain that nearly converges with the tip of the angel’s left wing.

Wierix, Hieronymus (attributed to)
Antwerp, Belgium 1553-Antwerp, Belgium 1619 Antwerp, Belgium 1553-Antwerp, Belgium 1619
Tobias Taking Leave of his Parents; No. 3 in a series of 6: The Story of Tobit Tobie prenant congé de ses parents; no 3 d'une série de 6 : Le livre de Tobie
Around 1582-85 v. 1582-1585
Engraving, state 2 of 2 Gravure, 2e état sur 2
overall: 19.5 cm x 27.5 cm
Purchase, Bader Acquisition Fund, 2010 Achat, Fonds d’acquisition Bader, 2010
53-046.099

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