The Healing of Tobit, 1632 Strozzi, Bernardo (1581-1644)
Stories of travel to exotic lands are a familiar theme throughout the Hebrew scriptures. Often God sends a man or woman on a dangerous journey far from home in order to test a character’s faithfulness. The book of Tobit from the Hebrew Testament tells just such a story. Although this apocryphal tale is not accepted by Protestants, scenes from this charming tale became a staple in Catholic Europe especially after the Reformation. The Genoese painter and priest Bernardo Strozzi depicts the climactic moment of the story. Almost certainly Strozzi’s painting would have been intended for a domestic setting. The story concerns a young man Tobias who is sent on a journey far from his home in order to find a cure for his father Tobit’s blindness. It is, however a dangerous mission, and an angel Raphael accompanies Tobias to protect him during his journey. Despite encounters with a giant fish and a young woman possessed by a demon, Tobias obtains the miraculous cure, after successfully wrestling the fish to death in order to extract the creature’s liver, heart and gall. The scene Strozzi imagines features the central characters in the story: the seated figure of Tobit is about to receive the cure for his blindness from the hands of his son, Tobias at his left. The young man tenderly applies the ointment to his father’s eye. Directly opposite Tobias the anxious figure of Anna, Tobias’s mother and Tobit’s wife leans forward her gaze fixed on her son’s delicate application of the cure. Standing between Anna and Tobias is the archangel Raphael, identified by his powerful wings. The angel looks on Tobit intently as he waits for Tobit’s sight to be restored. With his left hand Raphael points to the dish that Tobias holds in his left hand. This story which concerns a son’s devotion to his father helped reinforce the ideal of filial duty and respect, themes of importance amongst families throughout Europe.
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