| © Gary-Donald Arts Fine prints on the internet since 2001 | |
“Tobit Burying the Dead (Tobie)” |
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Inventory #: |
4782 |  |
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Artist: |
Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione | ||||
Dates/Bio: |
Italian, c.1616-1670 | ||||
Medium: |
Etching | ||||
Date: |
ca. 1647 - 1651 | ||||
Size (H/W): |
Sheet dimensions 8 1/8” x 11 13/16” (20.6 x 30.0 cm) | ||||
Description: |
Bartsch Catalogue #5 Printed on light weight laid finish paper, Fleur-de-lis watermark. An evenly printed impression. Only known state. Signed on plate on the ruined wall above the dog and below the large urn “Gio Benedetto Castiglione P.” | (click on image for photos) |
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Other Notes: |
By the light of a torch Tobit is moving a body toward a pit that is front of the man squatting in bottom center. Others look on including an old man in the background at far right and a large dog on the left. The scene is a reference to the Book of Tobit in the Old Testament, particularly Chapter 1, verses 17-18 and chapter 2, verses 4 -7. which speaks to Tobit's captivity in Nineveh with the rest of his people, during the reign of Shalmaneser , Sargon II and Sennacherib. Tobit would risk his own life to bury the dead who have been thrown out of the walls of Nineveh. The work dates to 1647-51 when the effects of nocturnal illumination were being experimented with and this work displays his best use of Rembrandt like chiaroscuro. Rembrandt had made his own etching of Tobit in 1641 - ”The angel departing from the family of Tobias” and later “The Blindness of Tobit” - 1651. |
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Condition: |
Trimmed to or just outside the plate mark. Light toning upper left margin. Old Adhesive residue upper corners on the back and small section of adhesive tape residue on each bottom corner Thin spot from the back on the lower left corner. Small amount of foxing with only one spot visible in the front image on the knee of the dead body and there is a brown spot just above the dog that does not appear to be foxing. Various pencil notations on reverse. Stretching of the damp paper during printing on the lower right corner. Otherwise in good condition. Hinge mounted to new 100% rag mats. Size given above is to the borderline. | ||||
Price: |
$3,195 | Status: Available | |||