, the "small Tobias", c. 1606, now Frankfurt The scene was uncommon until about 1450, when it became very popular in northern Italy, especially
Florence. This popularity lasted for about a century; small figures of Tobias and Raphael sometimes appear in the landscape backgrounds of more central religious scenes, such as a
Virgin and Child by
Lorenzo di Credi and an
Adoration of the Kings by
Filippino Lippi, both in the
National Gallery.
Ernst Gombrich noted that Florentine depictions were "concentrated" between 1425 and 1475. These, for which the
version by the Pollaiuolo brothers perhaps provided the prototype, usually show a very richly dressed young teenager and a very small white dog. In
Vasari's time the Pollaiuolo hung in the very prominent location of the
Orsanmichele. and
Hendrik de Clerck,
Landscape with Tobias and the Angel, 17th century. The pair appear twice. In the 17th century, the subject had a second life as a device to turn a
Baroque landscape into a more prestigious
history painting by adding small figures, dwarfed by their surroundings. This reversed the relative proportions of the Florentine
quattrocento depictions, which mostly had large figures at the front of the picture space and the landscape only visible through the gaps they left. Such scenes were also popular as prints. In some expansive Baroque compositions they appear twice, travelling and catching the giant fish; they are shown three times in a
world landscape composition painted by a follower of
Patinir, now in the
Frans Hals Museum. Transitional to this phase are the three paintings around the start of the century by the German
Adam Elsheimer, with his "small Tobias" (now in Frankfurt, 12.4 x 19.2 cm) copied many times, in paintings and prints. The "poetic depiction... and atmospheric rendering of nature represent a new vision of landscape which ... caused a stir in Rome" (where he was living). It has a horizontal format, and the figures are spread across about half the width. Presumably discovered through
European prints, the subject attracted a number of painters of
Mughal miniatures, although their images depart considerably from the biblical story as they had probably never read the text, and mis-understood or deliberately changed many points. Tobias may also have wings, and both he and Raphael may have
bodies covered with feathers, in "a kaleidoscopic mixture of European, Indian and Persian influences".
Narrative paintings Intrusive appearances and workshop,
Madonna and Child in a Landscape with Tobias and the Angel, c. 1535-40. The popularity of the subject in the Italian Renaissance is shown by its intrusion into paintings of other religious subjects as a
vignette in the background, presumably at the request of the patron.
Titian's
Madonna and Child in a Landscape with Tobias and the Angel in the British
Royal Collection (part of the
Dutch Gift to the restored Charles II) is one of "four closely related compositions by Titian and his workshop" of the
Virgin and Child with a variety of other figures, of which this is the only one to include Tobias and the Angel, plus dog and fish. They are in the fairly close background, the two groups taking no notice of each other, a common feature of such images, reflecting the breach of the biblical
space-time continuum in showing the different figures together in the same picture space. The Tobias group are "very freely painted and contrasting markedly with the careful painting of the foreground". Their composition, with Raphael pointing, is similar to the Titian of the 1540s in Venice (see above). In a similar way neither the main figures nor the
predella-like Tobias and the Angel within the
Pala delle Convertite (
Courtauld Gallery) by
Botticelli and his workshop seem aware of the other group. In this case we know the Tobias pair were originally in a different position, in a landscape on the right, where their scale matched the main figures in the scheme of perspective. Finely painted, they are probably by Botticelli himself, unlike much of the rest of the painting. The
Bavarian Baroque altarpiece known as
Mary, Untier of Knots, a favourite of
Pope Francis, has a similar very small Tobias and the Angel below the Virgin. The
Shepherd Boy Pointing at Tobias and the Angel by
Abraham Bloemaert in the
Minneapolis Institute of Art belongs to a specific tradition in
Dutch Golden Age painting of combining a main
genre painting scene in the foreground with a smaller distant biblical scene.
Altarpieces and sacra conversazione compositions , the
Holy Family and others, in a
sacra conversazione In a number of larger paintings such as
altarpieces and
sacra conversazioni Tobias, with his fish and dog, can be considered as attributes of Raphael, who is treated as a saint with other saints, while providing additional interest to the viewer. Of the other major
archangels in the Catholic hierarchy of angels,
Archangel Michael is easy to recognize, in armour with a weapon, often standing on a dragon representing Satan, and he may carry scales to represent his role in the
Last Judgement.
Gabriel carries a stem of lilies, traditionally part of the
iconography of the
Annunciation, his most significant work as the messenger of God. But more than inanimate attributes, Tobias and his own attributes of the dog and fish sometimes interact with the main figures. In (the painter) Raphael's
Madonna with the Fish (
Prado) Tobias is shown being presented to the Virgin, who seems to take a polite interest in his fish, and in
Girolamo dai Libri's
Madonna of the Umbrella the boy has attracted the attention of the Christ child, while the dog seems rather self-conscious, stranded at the front of the group. In the
Mannerist painting of the three archangels by
Michele Tosini, Michael has not finished off his dragon, to the alarm of Tobias. ==Other media==