Tobias and the Angel

The painting Tobias and the Angel by Filippino Lippi is dated to c. 1475–1480, aligning with the artist's early career following his training under Botticelli. Its early provenance is undocumented; it first appears in the collection of Alexander Barker in London by 1868, likely acquired after 1857. Following Barker's death, it was sold at Christie's, London, in 1879, misattributed to Antonio Pollaiuolo, and resurfaced in 1887 in the collection of Colonel William Cornwallis-West.

By 1927, it belonged to Robert Henry and Evelyn Benson, whose collection was acquired by Duveen Brothers. The Samuel H. Kress Foundation purchased the work in 1936, donating it to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., in 1939.

Tobias and the Angel is housed in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., where it is part of the Samuel H. Kress Collection, a 1939 gift. The work entered the Kress collection after its 1936 purchase from Duveen Brothers, having previously belonged to Alexander Barker, William Cornwallis-West, and Robert Henry Benson. Its early public visibility occurred at the 1868 National Exhibition in Leeds, where it was listed as Barker's property.

The painting has since been exhibited as part of the Kress Collection displays at the National Gallery of Art.

Filippino Lippi's Tobias and the Angel (c. 1475–1480) occupies a pivotal position in the transition from early to High Renaissance Florentine painting, reflecting the artist's synthesis of his father Filippo Lippi's lyrical style and Sandro Botticelli's influence, under whom he trained from 1472. Scholars highlight its compositional debt to Antonio del Pollaiuolo and Andrea del Verrocchio, whose depictions of the same biblical narrative established conventions for dynamic yet intimate figural interaction. Gertrude M. Achenbach's iconographic study underscores the theme's resonance with Florentine merchant patrons, who commissioned such works to symbolize debt recovery, filial guidance, and spiritual protection, linking commercial pragmatism to Christian allegory.

While modest in scale, the painting exemplifies Lippi's early mastery of delicate drapery, luminous landscapes, and the androgynous elegance of figures, traits that would define his mature oeuvre. Its critical reception emphasizes its role in popularizing the Tobias narrative within Renaissance devotional art.

The subject of Tobias and the Angel held significant cultural resonance for wealthy Florentine merchants, who commissioned such works to symbolize debt recovery, the transition to adulthood, and divine protection for traveling sons. This popularity inspired numerous Florentine painters, including Antonio del Pollaiuolo and Andrea del Verrocchio, who created similar compositions. Filippino Lippi revisited the theme later in his career with a c. 1485 painting in Turin featuring multiple archangels.

Art historically, the work is recognized as an early piece by Lippi that shares compositional traits with his contemporaries. Its enduring reputation is evidenced by its prominent inclusion in the Samuel H. Kress Collection at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it has been held since 1939 following a provenance that included major 19th-century private collections and the Duveen Brothers.

Filippino Lippi, a Florentine Renaissance painter, created Tobias and the Angel around 1475–1480. This painting, executed in oil and tempera on a poplar panel, illustrates a popular biblical narrative. It features a young man accompanied by a winged angel, who carries a fish. The artwork is presently held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.