The Archangel Raphael Refusing Tobias’s Gift
Giovanni Biliverti1622
The J. Paul Getty Museum
Los Angeles, United States
The drawing is a primo pensiero (first thought) for one of Biliverti's most celebrated works, The Archangel Raphael Refusing Tobias’s Gift, painted in 1622 for the Florentine Filippo Comi and now in the Palatine Gallery, Florence. The painting depicts the moment when Raphael, traveling companion for Tobias, Tobit's son, refuses Tobit's gifts for his help and reveals himself as an archangel. Such paintings reflect the counter-Reformation interest in guardian angels, and this subject was frequently commissioned when a child left home to travel. The composition in this drawing is broadly similar to that used in the final painting, but in reverse, and the grand interior setting is eliminated.
- Title: The Archangel Raphael Refusing Tobias’s Gift
- Creator: Giovanni Biliverti
- Date Created: 1622
- Location Created: Italy
- Physical Dimensions: 39.4 × 27.9 cm (15 1/2 × 11 in.)
- Type: Drawing
- External Link: Find out more about this object on the Museum website.
- Medium: Red chalk, brush with red wash
- Terms of Use: Open Content
- Number: 2017.14
- Culture: Italian
- Credit Line: The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Purchased with funds provided by the Disegno Group
- Creator Display Name: Giovanni Biliverti (Italian, 1584 - 1644)
- Classification: Drawings (Visual Works)
Get the app
Explore museums and play with Art Transfer, Pocket Galleries, Art Selfie, and more
You are all set!
Your first Culture Weekly will arrive this week.