Dutch school, XVII century. "The departure of Abraham". Oil on panel.

Dutch school, XVII century. "The departure of Abraham". Oil on panel.

Dutch school, XVII century.
"The departure of Abraham".
Oil on panel.
Size: 57 x 75 cm; 68 x 85 cm (frame).
The theme of this painting could be linked to an episode in the life of Abraham. We see the patriarch in the right part of a landscape with ruins, speaking to a woman with a child (it could be Hagar and Ishmael) of the necessity to leave towards Canaan, by divine request. The type of landscape with figures is very close to the work of the painter Cornelis van Poelenburch, who masterfully captures this work. Poelenburch, like other Dutch artists of the time, placed the biblical scenes in Italian-inspired landscapes, with ancient ruins giving a timeless patina to an idealized nature. The warm shades in the foreground contrast with the different levels of blue that are pawning the forms to represent the atmosphere in the distance. The costumbrismo and the biblical theme dialogue with naturalness in this genre of Dutch paintings.