Abraham Bowing Before the Lord and an Angel (Genesis 17:1–8 or Genesis 18:1–3) thumbnail 1
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Abraham Bowing Before the Lord and an Angel (Genesis 17:1–8 or Genesis 18:1–3)

Drawing
1645 - 1650 (made)
Artist/Maker
Bol, Ferdinand (artist)
Rembrandt (artist)
Place of origin
Netherlands (drawn)

Pen and brown ink drawing, with brown wash and some corrections in opaque white; traces of framing line in brown ink.

Object details

Category
Drawings
Object type
Drawing
TitleAbraham Bowing Before the Lord and an Angel (Genesis 17:1–8 or Genesis 18:1–3) (published title)
Materials and techniques
Pen and brown ink, with brown wash and some corrections in opaque white (above head of Abraham and in tree beyond building in background); traces of framing line in brown ink.
Paper
Pen
Drawing
Wash Technique
Brief description
Drawing, 'Abraham Bowing Before the Lord and an Angel (Genesis 17:1–8 or Genesis 18:1–3)', by Ferdinand Bol, pen and ink and wash on paper; Dutch School; c.1645-50
Physical description
Pen and brown ink drawing, with brown wash and some corrections in opaque white; traces of framing line in brown ink.
Dimensions
  • Height: 184mm
  • Width: 295 mm
Style
Dutch School
Production typeUnique
Marks and inscriptions
Inscribed at lower right, in brown ink (with museum's Dyce inv. no.), 428. Inscribed on the old Richardson gilded and ruled mount, at lower centre, in brown ink, Rembrandt; and at lower right, in a nineteenth-century hand, in pencil (with Dyce's original inv. no.), 786; on verso of mount, at top (upside down), in pencil, In 1820 (?).
Gallery label
The energetic, irregular penwork and patchy areas of wash are typical of Ferdinand Bol. He was a pupil and follower of Rembrandt. Bol depicts God as a statuesque figure towering over the kneeling Abraham, his wife Sarah and the winged Angel. This composition was taken from Rembrandt. Both artists used the dominance of the figure to express God’s spiritual presence.
Credit line
Dyce Bequest
Object history
Jonathan Richardson jun. (1694–1771), London (L. 2170); Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723–92), London (L. 2364); Rev. Alexander Dyce (1798–1869), London, by whom bequeathed to the museum (L. Suppl. 153b), 1869.

Subjects depicted
Angel
Tree
Abraham
Place depicted
Netherlands
Bibliographic references
  • Science and Art department of the Committee of Council on Education, South Kensington Museum, Dyce Collection. A catalogue of the paintings, miniatures, drawings, engravings, rings and miscellaneous objects bequeathed by the Reverend Alexander Dyce London, 1874.
  • C. Hofstede de Groot, Die Handzeichnungen Rembrandtd Haarlem, 1906, no. 967
  • Henry Reitlinger, Victorian and Albert Museum. A selection of the drawings by old masters in the museum collections with a catalogue and notes London, 1921.
  • W. Valentiner, Rembrandt. Des Meisters Zeichnungen vol I (Klassiker der Kunst, vol. 31), Stuttgart, Berlin and Leipzig, n.d. p.xxvi and fig p.xviii.
  • DYCE COLLECTION. A Catalogue of the Paintings, Miniatures, Drawings, Engravings, Rings and Miscellaneous Objects Bequeathed by The Reverend Alexander Dyce. London : South Kensington Museum, 1874.
  • Jane Shoaf Turner and Christopher White, Catalogue of Dutch and Flemish Drawings in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2014, vol. I, Cat. 36, illus. p.80.
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
DYCE.428

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Record createdJanuary 12, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O182401/abraham-bowing-before-the-lord-drawing-bol-ferdinand/
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