Laban Searching for his Household Gods

Art Historical Context

Gabriel de Saint-Aubin’s *Laban Searching for his Gods* (ca. 1753) is a delicate etching that captures a tense biblical moment from Genesis 31. Here, the patriarch Laban rummages through Jacob’s tents in search of stolen household idols, or *teraphim*—small figurines revered as protective deities in ancient Near Eastern culture. Rendered in fine lines on a modest plate (5 11/16 × 9 7/16 in.), the scene brims with figures of men and women, evoking drama and domestic intrigue amid pastoral tents. As a master of the Rococo style, Saint-Aubin (1724–1780) excelled in intricate prints that blended elegance with narrative vitality, often illustrating literary or historical themes for enlightened 18th-century audiences in Paris. His etching technique—biting acid into a copper plate for precise, tonal effects—allowed for rich textures and subtle shading, making this work both intimate and reproducible, ideal for collectors’ albums. This gift to the Metropolitan Museum of Art honors curator Perrin Stein and exemplifies how Rococo artists reimagined sacred stories with worldly flair, bridging antiquity and Enlightenment curiosity. A gem in the Drawings and Prints department, it invites visitors to ponder the clash of faith and superstition in a single, sparkling frame.

About the Artist

Gabriel de Saint-Aubin · 1724–1780

Gabriel de Saint-Aubin (1724–1780) was one of the most vivid and irrepressible graphic artists of eighteenth-century France, a tireless draughtsman whose sketchbooks and prints constitute an extraordinary visual chronicle of Parisian life during the Ancien Régime. Born into a family with strong connections to the decorative arts — his father was an embroiderer to the king — Saint-Aubin received fo...