Laban Searching for His Stolen Household Gods
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo·c. 1665–70
Historical Context
Murillo painted Laban Searching for His Stolen Household Gods around 1665-70, depicting the Old Testament episode in which Laban pursues his son-in-law Jacob, who has fled with Laban's daughter Rachel and his household idols. Murillo, the most popular painter in Seville, treated biblical narratives with the same warm naturalism he brought to his devotional images. This large canvas demonstrates his mastery of multi-figure narrative composition in the manner of the great Venetian painters he admired.
Technical Analysis
Murillo's golden, atmospheric palette creates a warm, unified tonality across the large canvas. The figures are arranged in a dynamic yet balanced composition, with loose, flowing brushwork in the draperies and landscape contrasting with more precise treatment of faces and hands.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice Murillo's golden, atmospheric palette creating warm, unified tonality across the large canvas — the Venetian influence he absorbed filtered through Sevillian light.
- ◆Look at the flowing brushwork in the draperies and landscape contrasting with more precise treatment of faces and hands.
- ◆Observe the dynamic yet balanced composition of the multi-figure narrative — Laban searching, Rachel concealing, the household mid-flight.
- ◆Find Rachel seated on the camel's saddle where she has hidden the household gods — her expression caught between fear and composed innocence.
Provenance
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio; (Wildenstein & Co., New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art); Carlos Guinle [1889-1956], Rio de Janeiro; Jacques Barou de la Lombardière de Canson [d. 1958], Paris; Hibbard1; (Christie, Manson, and Woods, London, sale, July 4, 1924, no. 21, sold to Hibbard); Hugh Richard Arthur Grosvenor, second Duke of Westminster [1879 –1953]; Hugh Grosvenor, Marquis of Westminster [1825-1899], Grosvenor House, London, to his grandson, Hugh Richard Arthur Grosvenor; Possibly Robert Grosvenor, Marquis of Westminster [1767-1845]1; Marquis of Santiago, Santiago Palace, Madrid, sold to William Buchanan and W.G. Coesvelt through G. Augustus Wallis; (William Buchanan and W.G. Coesvelt, London, acquired in Spain through Buchanan’s agent, G. Augustus Wallis), sold to the Marquis of Westminster)1; Marquis of Villamanrique, MadMarquis of Santiago, Santiago Palace, Madrid, sold to William Buchanan and W.G. Coesvelt through G. Augustus Wallisrid1; Marquis of Villamanrique, Seville
