Tobias Blessed by Blind Tobit

Art Historical Context

This evocative print, created between 1620 and 1641, captures a tender moment from the Book of Tobit in which the blind father Tobit blesses his son Tobias before the young man’s journey. The scene typically includes the archangel Raphael, disguised as a guide, and Tobias’s loyal dog—elements subtly referenced in the work’s tags of angels, animals, and landscapes. Dutch artists Moses van Uyttenbroeck and Jan van de Velde II collaborated on this etching and engraving, combining van Uyttenbroeck’s inventive compositions with van de Velde’s refined printmaking skill. Produced during the Dutch Golden Age, the work reflects the era’s strong interest in biblical narratives that emphasized family devotion, divine protection, and moral guidance. Etching and engraving allowed such stories to reach wide audiences through affordable prints, making religious imagery accessible beyond church walls or wealthy collectors. The delicate line work and atmospheric landscape demonstrate the technical sophistication of seventeenth-century Dutch printmaking. Now part of the Metropolitan Museum’s collection through the bequest of Phyllis Massar, the sheet offers viewers a window into how everyday audiences encountered sacred stories in the early modern period. Its modest size invites close looking, rewarding attention to the intimate gestures and richly detailed natural setting.