On-line gallery
- Reference number
- P04620
- Author
- Rosales Gallina, Eduardo (Spanish)
- Title
- Tobias and the Angel
- Chronology
- Ca. 1860
- Technique
- Support
- Measures
- 198 cm x 118 cm
- School
- Theme
- Shown
- Yes
- Entrance
- COMPRA
- Procedence
- Adquisición, 1879 - Museo de Arte Moderno
According to the Bible, Tobias was
standing by a river when he was
attacked by a giant fish. He was
saved by his guardian angel. The
painting shows the protagonist
seeking refuge from the angel. The
latter is turned slightly to the
left. He points at the fish with
his left hand, calming the
boy.
The closeness of this work to the
aesthetics of the German Nazarine
painters or the Italian
Prerafaelists indicates Rosales's
knowledge of those tendencies in
European painting, with which he
was already familiar before his
trip to Rome. He may have received
those influences from his teachers,
Carlos Luis de Ribera and Federico
de Madrazo.
The painter made numerous
preparatory drawings and sketches,
which shows how carefully he
studied the composition and how
concerned he was to insure the
final results. Yet these
characteristics seem to conflict
with the intentionally unfinished
appearance of the final work,
thought this ties in with the
esthetic investigation visible in
other works from the same period,
such as Ophelia (P4623) or Female
Nude (P4616).
This work was acquired on 12 June
1879 for the National Museum of
Painting and Sculpture and was
later at the Museum of Modern Art.
Location on the map
