Artwork
Tobias's Farewell to the Angel
Tobias's Farewell to the Angel is an oil painting by the Early Baroque Italian artist Giovanni Biliverti. It dates from 1610 and is held in the collection of the Hermitage Museum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The scene encapsulates themes of divine protection and the completion of a sacred mission, characteristic of early 17th-century Italian religious painting.
Giovanni Biliverti's 1610 oil painting depicts the biblical moment of farewell between Tobias and the angel Raphael. The work illustrates a specific narrative from the Book of Tobit, focusing on the separation of the human traveler from his divine guide. As a piece of religious art, the iconography centers on the interaction between these two figures, representing the conclusion of Tobias's journey and the revelation of Raphael's true identity.
The scene encapsulates themes of divine protection and the completion of a sacred mission, characteristic of early 17th-century Italian religious painting.
Technique & Style
The painting is executed in oil on canvas, measuring 188.5 × 144.5 cm. Its large scale and medium suggest the work was intended for significant display, consistent with religious commissions of the period. As a religious painting depicting the farewell between Tobias and the Archangel Raphael, the composition would have required careful handling of figural interaction and narrative clarity. The oil technique on canvas support, produced in Italy in 1610, reflects the materials and practices common to early Baroque Florentine painting.
History & Provenance
The painting was created in Italy around 1610 by Giovanni Biliverti, depicting the biblical scene of Tobias's farewell to the angel. It is an oil on canvas work measuring 188.5 cm by 144.5 cm and belongs to the religious art genre. The Hermitage Museum is the current collection holder and location.
The work entered the Hermitage collection through a documented acquisition, establishing a clear ownership chain from its creation to the museum's custody. Its creation history is tied to Biliverti's activity in the early 17th century, reflecting the artistic and religious context of the period.
Overview
Giovanni Biliverti, an Italian painter working at the transition from late Mannerism to early Baroque, completed the oil painting Tobias’s Farewell to the Angel in 1610. The work is a religious genre scene now in the collection of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.
Context
The work reflects the early Baroque shift toward more naturalistic lighting and dynamic storytelling, moving away from the artificial elegance of late Mannerism. Biliverti’s treatment of a biblical subject aligns with contemporary Counter‑Reformation interests in clear, affective religious imagery.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Giovanni Biliverti (surname also written as Bilivelt and Bilivert or other variants; 25 August 1585 – 16 July 1644) was an Italian painter of the late-Mannerism and early-Baroque period, active mainly in his adoptive city of Florence, as…
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