Tobias and the Angel
- Original dimensions
- 51.5 x 63.5 cm
- Museum
- Prado Museum
- Year
- 1787
Scene depicted
The canvas illustrates the meeting between Tobias, the young man, and the angel Raphael, a moment heavy with meaning and promises. In a richly worked landscape, the angel kindly guides Tobias, offering a vision of hope and protection. Each element of this painting evokes a harmonious complicity between the divine and the human.
Historical context
Created in 1787, this painting is part of the late 18th-century movement in Spain, at the heart of a time rich in intellectual and artistic effervescence. 'Tobias and the Angel', a work that illuminates the Prado Museum in Madrid, testifies to the beginnings of a promising career of Francisco de Goya . With dimensions of 51.5 by 63.5 cm, this canvas navigates between the use of classical forms and the emergence of a more personal and inimitable style.
Place in the artist's career
'Tobias and the Angel' is situated at a crucial crossroads in Goya's career. With this canvas , the artist frees himself from academic constraints, seeking to implement a new expressiveness. In parallel with works such as 'The Caprices' and 'La Maja Desnuda', his style approaches a more candid humanity, revealing the depth of his emotions.
Anecdote
“In every stroke of my brush, I seek the soul of my characters,” Goya is said to have remarked while contemplating the composition emerging from this masterpiece . Inspired by biblical traditions and the quest for light, it is under the sweet scent of spring flowers that the artist managed to capture the essence of a sacred dialogue, amidst the relaxing hours of a sunny morning.