Tobias and the Angel, ca. 1618

The theme of Tobias and the Angel is taken from the Old Testament and relates the story of an episode from the lives of two Jewish exiles, Tobias and his father Tobit. The angel Raphael, in the guise of a young man, accompanied Tobias on a journey to Nineveh in Assyria. When they came to a river Tobias was attacked by a fish. Tobias killed the animal and, on the advice of the angel, cut out its heart, gall and liver. These could later be used for medicinal purposes. In ancient times it was generally believed that these organs had healing powers. In the Old Testament story, when Tobias smeared the gall over his father’s blind eyes his sight was restored. Depictions of the story of Tobias and the angel were especially popular during the seventeenth century. Paintings of this subject were often commissioned when a son was leaving home.