Tobit and Anna with the Kid


Tobit and Anna with the Kid, also titled Tobit Accusing Anna of Stealing the Kid, and Tobit Praying for Death, is an early oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age painter Rembrandt, signed and dated 1626. It is now in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

Subject

The subject of the painting is taken from the deuterocanonical Book of Tobit from the Old Testament.
The painting shows the moment between Tobit and his wife Anna, early in the narrative, when Tobit's faith in his wife's honesty is shaken. Tobit has been blinded in an accident, and to keep the family from poverty Anna works for the neighbours, for whom she makes cloth and sews clothes, and is paid in kind for her work. One day she receives a kid as wages and brings it home. Hearing the young animal's bleating, Tobit fears that his wife has stolen the animal and accuses her of committing a sin. Anna sharply denies the accusations, and Tobit begins to pray to God for death as release from suffering: "that I may be dissolved, and become earth".
In the biblical narrative, the old couple's fortunes are eventually restored by their son, Tobias, with the aid and guidance of the angel Raphael, and Tobit is cured of his blindness by a magic fish caught by Tobias and Raphael in the Tigris.

Description

The painting is signed, at lower left, "RH·1626". This early work by Rembrandt, painted in the year he turned twenty, is described by art historian Gary Schwartz as "his first truly accomplished painting".
Rembrandt skilfully tells the story, focusing on the most important threads: Anna, still with the goat at hand, has just heard her husband's accusation, which she indignantly denies. Tobit is deep in prayer to God, asking for death. At his feet is a small dog, symbolizing Tobit's fidelity and trust in God's justice.
Like most of Rembrandt's first Leyden period, the painting is rich in colour and human emotion. For Michael Kitson, the work is an early and excellent example of Rembrandt's "lifelong fascination with old people". The artist's mother may have posed for the character of Anna.

Background

While the scene of Tobias and the Angel travelling through the desert was already an established subject in European art, Dutch Golden Age painters were also interested in the other episodes of the Book of Tobit. Rembrandt's teacher, Pieter Lastman, had painted a scene from near the end of the story, The Angel Raphael Takes Leave of Old Tobit and his Son Tobias, in which Tobit and Tobias kneel in pious gratitude before the winged Raphael; and Rembrandt himself later painted Raphael's heavenward departure in The Archangel Raphael Leaving Tobias' Family.

Provenance

The painting was first mentioned on 29 October 1748 in the catalogue of Pieter van Buytene's collection, which was put up for sale. Between 17 and 18 April 1759 it was purchased by Yver at an anonymous sale at an unknown auction house in Amsterdam. From 1905 to 1913 the painting was in the collection of Dmitry Shchukin. In 1917, it was sold by the art dealer E. J. Goudstikker, and it was in the collection of Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza from 1956 to 1979. In 1979, the painting was acquired by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.