Who painted Landscape with Jacob Wrestling with the Angel (Night)?

Landscape with Jacob Wrestling with the Angel (Night) was painted by Claude Lorrain in 1672.

Where can I see Landscape with Jacob Wrestling with the Angel (Night)?

Landscape with Jacob Wrestling with the Angel (Night) is held by Hermitage Museum.

What movement is Landscape with Jacob Wrestling with the Angel (Night)?

Landscape with Jacob Wrestling with the Angel (Night) is associated with French Classical Baroque.

Can I buy a print of Landscape with Jacob Wrestling with the Angel (Night)?

Museum-quality prints of Landscape with Jacob Wrestling with the Angel (Night) are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Artwork

Landscape with Jacob Wrestling with the Angel (Night)

Claude Lorrain , 1672

Landscape with Jacob Wrestling with the Angel (Night) is an oil painting by the French Classical Baroque artist Claude Lorrain. It dates from 1672 and is held in the collection of the Hermitage Museum.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The river and overarching trees frame the confrontation, directing focus to the transformative moment when Jacob receives a blessing and is renamed Israel.

The painting depicts the biblical episode in which Jacob wrestles an angel at night, a scene drawn from Genesis 32:24–30. In the composition, a lone figure grapples with a winged angel beside a river under a dark sky, while a distant town glows on the horizon. The nocturnal setting and subdued palette emphasize the struggle’s intimacy and spiritual intensity.

Claude’s treatment aligns with the subject’s traditional interpretation as a metaphor for spiritual trial and divine encounter. The river and overarching trees frame the confrontation, directing focus to the transformative moment when Jacob receives a blessing and is renamed Israel.

Technique & Style

Landscape with Jacob Wrestling with the Angel (Night) is an oil painting on canvas executed by Claude Lorrain in 1672. The painting belongs to the landscape genre and portrays a religious narrative of Jacob wrestling with an angel. Its support is a woven canvas, and the medium is oil paint.

The canvas measures approximately 113 cm in height and 157 cm in width. It is catalogued as a landscape painting with religious subject matter.

History & Provenance

Executed in 1672, Landscape with Jacob Wrestling with the Angel (Night) was painted in France by Claude Lorrain. The work entered the Russian imperial collection after 1801, when it was acquired by Joséphine de Beauharnais. It subsequently passed into the holdings of the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, where it remains in the museum’s permanent collection.

The painting is held by the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, where it is inventoried as Ж-527.

It was first recorded in the collection of Joséphine de Beauharnais before entering the museum’s holdings. The work has not been listed among recent Hermitage exhibitions, and no documented exhibition history beyond its accession is provided by the available sources.

Overview

Created in 1672 by Claude Lorrain, a French painter who spent most of his career in Italy, this oil painting presents a night‑time landscape that merges a biblical episode with an idealized natural environment. The work belongs to the French Classical Baroque tradition and is currently part of the collection of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.

Context

Lorrain’s work exemplifies the Baroque shift toward treating landscape as a primary subject rather than a mere backdrop. By embedding a biblical narrative within an idealized, almost theatrical natural setting, he aligns with contemporary French Classical ideals that emphasized harmony, order, and the interplay of light and shadow.