Collection Online as of December 15, 2019

Abraham Welcoming the Three Angels

1750s

Part of a set. See all set records

Francesco Guardi

(Italian, 1712-1793)

Italy, 18th century

Oil on canvas

Framed: 70.5 x 90.5 x 5.5 cm (27 3/4 x 35 5/8 x 2 3/16 in.); Unframed: 56.5 x 75.5 cm (22 1/4 x 29 3/4 in.)

Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1952.235.4

Location

not on view

Description

Three of the four pictures in the series depict episodes from the life of the Old Testament figure of Abraham, beginning with the angels appearing to Abraham. According to Genesis 18, Abraham met three men at midday, and, recognizing that they were angels, humbly bowed down to them with his face touching the ground. The encounter incongruously takes place before a marble, classical portico in which a woman lurks, presumably his wife Sarah.

Citations

The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 429 archive.org

Heinemann, Fritz. "Mostra Dei Guardi : Ausstellung in Venedig, Juni Bis September 1965." Kunstchronik / Hrsg. Vom Zentralinstitut Für Kunstgeschichte 18 (1965): 223-246. Reproduced: P. 238

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 146 archive.org

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 146 archive.org

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 143 archive.org

Exhibition history

Venice, Palazzo Grassi, June 5 - October 10, 1965: "Mostra dei Guardi," cat. no. 59, p. 412 (as Francesco)

Approved: Trustees' Minutes 6/21/1965

Oklahoma City Museum of Art (9/9/2010 - 1/2/2011): "The Allure of La Serenissima: Eighteenth-Century Venetian Art", cat. no. 7, p. 54.

The Allure of La Serenissima: Eighteenth-Century Venetian Art. Oklahoma City Museum of Art (organizer) (September 9, 2010-January 2, 2011).