Jacob Wrestling with the Angel by Rembrandt van Rijn was created in 1659. The painting is in Gemaldegalerie Berlin. The size of the work is 137 x 116 cm and is made of oil on canvas.
For his late work, Rembrandt chose a rarely depicted event from the Old Testament (Genesis 32:22-31), in which it is reported that Jacob – after leaving his father-in-law Laban – moved home with his two wives and his sons. On the way there he was left alone on the side of the Jabbok River, where an angel in human form met him. Jacob wrestled with the angel until the morning councils. When he realized that Jacob would not give up, he dislocated his hip.
However, Jacob continued to hold his adversary and forced him to bless him. The angel did this and Jacob recognized God in him. In his large-format depiction, Rembrandt dispensed with details and concentrated on the two main figures, whom he reproduced in close-up and life-size. The original format of the painting was originally much larger. The image has been cropped several times over the years. Read more in Gemaldegalerie Berlin(de)
About the Artist: Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman Rembrandt was born on 15 July 1606 in Leiden, in the Dutch Republic, now the Netherlands. As a boy, he attended a Latin school. At the age of 13, he was enrolled at the University of Leiden, although according to a contemporary he had a greater inclination towards painting. In 1624 or 1625, Rembrandt opened a studio in Leiden, which he shared with friend and colleague Jan Lievens. In 1627, Rembrandt began to accept students, which included Gerrit Dou in 1628 and Isaac de Jouderville… Read more
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