Artwork Page for Laban Searching for his Stolen Household Gods

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Laban Searching for his Stolen Household Gods

c. 1665–1670

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

(Spanish, 1617–1682)
Culture
Spain
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
Framed: 278 x 398 x 14 cm (109 7/16 x 156 11/16 x 5 1/2 in.); Unframed: 243 x 362 cm (95 11/16 x 142 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1965.469
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
212 Baroque Painting and Sculpture
Print

Description

This story comes from the Old Testament book of Genesis and stresses the value of reconciliation. Jacob lived with his uncle Laban for years, marrying Laban’s daughters Rachel and Leah. When the relationship between the men soured, Jacob and his family departed, while Rachel secretly stole her father’s household gods. When Laban discovered that the statues were missing, he pursued Jacob, accusing him of theft. Here, Jacob invites Laban to search his tent, while Rachel sits on the saddlebag containing the statues. After coming up empty-handed, Laban proposes a truce, ending the squabble.
A horizontally oriented oil painting depicts a landscape with people with light skin tone standing outside a tent foregrounded in the lower left. Two men stand in front of the tent, gesturing to it while three women surrounded by children watch, one sitting in the tent. People, horses, and cows gather to the right and more people, sheep, and camels walk through mountains. The figures become hazier and colors more muted in the background.

Laban Searching for his Stolen Household Gods

c. 1665–1670

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

(Spanish, 1617–1682)
Spain

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