Tobias Curing His Father's Blindness

The subject of the painting is drawn from the apocryphal Book of Tobit, which tells how the archangel Raphael directed Tobias to cure his father’s blindness with the gall of the fish he had caught. Although born in Genoa, Bernardo Strozzi moved to Venice in 1630. This canvas was painted in Venice and its composition was repeated by the artist on at least two other occasions. Strozzi’s work is characterized by a distinctive vibrant brushwork and an attention to still-life details.

Credit: Purchase, Mary Wetmore Shively Bequest, in memory of her husband, Henry L. Shively, M.D., 1957