Tobias en de engel 1682

Valentin Lefebvre created this print, "Tobias and the Angel," during the latter half of the 17th century. It depicts a scene from the Book of Tobit, part of the Old Testament, showcasing the angel Raphael guiding the young Tobias. Engravings like this one played a crucial role in disseminating religious and moral narratives across Europe at a time when access to education and art was largely confined to the elite. Lefebvre, working in Venice, would have been part of a sophisticated printmaking culture, where artists both served the needs of religious institutions and catered to a growing market for art among the middle classes. Notice how the image, with its dramatic gestures and flowing drapery, draws on the visual language of the Italian Baroque. We can use archival sources, such as guild records, to better understand the artist’s position within that world. The story itself, of divine intervention in everyday life, speaks to the religious sensibilities of the time and reminds us that art is always shaped by the social and institutional forces of its day.