The Departure of Jacob

François Boucher was known for romantic, idealized pastoral scenes and produced relatively few religious works. This drawing, however, is believed to relate to the Old Testament story in which Jacob travels to Canaan with his family. Boucher used a limited palette of brown, red, and black to create dramatic shadows and highlights. The family is seen basking in the dappled sunlight that illuminates the mother and her baby as they rest beneath a palm tree. The sheet may have served as a preparatory study for a similar painting by Boucher that is lost today and known only through a reproductive engraving by the printmaker Elisabeth Cousinet-Lempereur.

A vertically oriented ink and wash drawing in monochromatic brown on cream paper depicts a family resting outdoors. In the foreground, a woman with light skin tone sits nursing an infant. Behind her, a man with medium skin tone leans over a donkey laden with baskets. Several children and sheep cluster around the central figures, while a small dog rests below. Loose strokes and washes suggest a large wheel and foliage in the background.

The Departure of Jacob

c. 1755

François Boucher

(French, 1703–1770)

France, 18th century

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