Provenance
Cottin collection; (his sale, by Pierre Remy and Sieur Helle, Paris, 27 November-22 December 1752, 1st day, no. 382);[1] purchased by Le Brun. (sale, Sotheby's, London, 21 February 1962, no. 66); (Thos. Agnew and Sons, Ltd., London); sold 29 May 1963 to Joseph F. McCrindle [1923-2008], New York;[2] gift 2004 to NGA.
[1] The painting was sold as a pendant to Poelenburch’s “Abraham conduissant son Fil Isaac au lieu du Sacrifice, 12 pounces de haut sur 15 1/2 de large.” On the verso of the panel are some unidentified wax seals.
[2] Also on the verso is an Agnew’s label with the number 24022 stenciled on it. Venetia Harlow, Agnew’s archivist, confirmed in an e-mail of 21 December 2009 to Arthur K. Wheelock, Jr. (in NGA curatorial files) that this label number corresponded to Agnew’s stock number 3792, and provided the details of their acquisition and sale of the painting.
Accession Number
2004.101.2
Medium
oil on panel
Dimensions
overall: 35.6 x 47 cm (14 x 18 1/2 in.) | framed: 51.1 x 62.1 x 5.1 cm (20 1/8 x 24 7/16 x 2 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Gift of Joseph F. McCrindle in honor of John Thomas Rowe, Jr.
Tags
Painting Baroque (1600–1750) Oil Painting Panel Painting Dutch
Background & Context
Background Story
Cornelis van Poelenburch (c. 1594-1667) was a Dutch painter known for his small-scale Italianate landscapes with biblical or mythological figures, a genre that was popular among collectors in the Dutch Golden Age. The Prophet Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath from c. 1630 depicts the biblical story in which the prophet Elijah, during a famine, is sustained by a widow who shares her last meal with him and is rewarded by God with an inexhaustible supply of flour and oil. Poelenburch's treatment places the biblical figures in an Italianate landscape with the warm coloring and smooth finish that distinguish his work from the more naturalistic landscapes of his Dutch contemporaries.
Cultural Impact
Poelenburch's biblical paintings in Italianate landscape settings were among the most popular and expensive paintings in the Dutch Golden Age, collected by aristocratic patrons throughout Europe who appreciated the combination of devotional subject and picturesque landscape. The Prophet Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath demonstrates why Poelenburch's work commanded such high prices: the biblical subject is rendered with the smooth finish and warm coloring that appealed to aristocratic taste, and the Italianate landscape provides a picturesque setting that elevates the devotional subject above mere illustration.
Why It Matters
The Prophet Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath is Poelenburch's Italianate biblical painting at its most accomplished: the biblical story placed in a warm Italianate landscape with the smooth finish and warm coloring that made Poelenburch one of the most expensive painters in the Dutch Golden Age. The c. 1630 painting demonstrates why aristocratic collectors valued his combination of devotional subject and picturesque landscape.
