The Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek

The Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek was painted by Peter Paul Rubens in 1625 as an oil on panel. Its earliest recorded location is the Palacio Nuevo in Madrid, a fact first noted in the 1885 catalogue of Thomas G. Baring and repeated in later exhibition histories. The work then passed through several Parisian and Brussels collections, appearing in the estates of Jean de Jullienne (by 1753) and J.B. Horion, before entering the possession of Lady Stuart by 1830.

After her 1841 Christie’s sale it was acquired by Sir Thomas Baring, 2nd baronet, and remained in the Baring family, descending to Thomas George Baring, 1st Earl of Northbrook, then to his son Francis George Baring, 2nd Earl, who sold it to P. & D. Colnaghi in 1929. Subsequent owners included Walter J. Stoye (1936) and the Carstairs Gallery, which sold it to the National Gallery of Art in 1958 using funds from Syma Busiel.

The painting is currently held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. It was acquired by the museum in 1958, purchased from the Carstairs Gallery of New York using funds provided by Syma Busiel following its sale at Sotheby's in London earlier that year. Prior to entering the national collection, the work passed through the estates of the Baring family, specifically Thomas Baring, 1st Earl of Northbrook, and his successors, before being sold to dealers P. & D. Colnaghi in 1929 and later to private owners Walter J. Stoye and his wife in 1936. Historical records indicate the painting was featured in exhibition catalogues in 1899, 1938, and 1953, during which time its earlier provenance linking it to the Palacio Nuevo in Madrid was noted.