17th Century, Italian follower of Pietro da Cortona, Alliance of Jacob and

17th Century, Italian follower of Pietro da Cortona, Alliance of Jacob and Laban


The oil painting on canvas depicts the alliance of Jacob and Laban. The subject is inspired by a canvas by Pietro da Cortona (1596-1669), kept in the Louvre Museum and made around 1630-35.
The Italian painter, capable student or vigorous follower of the master and therefore realizes this work after 1635, chooses to depict only the right side of the composition of Pietro da Cortona, or the scene in which Jacob and Laban come to the pact, Except for the portion on the right in which Leah and Rachel are depicted, the two wives of Jacob and the daughters of Laban, while Rachel hides the idols under her clothes.
The story is told in the Bible, where Laban, Rebecca’s brother, gave shelter to his nephew Jacob, who sought refuge from the wrath of Esau, and promised to give him in marriage to his daughter Rachel, on condition that he worked for him for seven years. But when the time came for the marriage, he substituted for Rachel the firstborn Leah. Jacob, too late to notice the deception, had to commit to another seven years of work to marry Rachel. After years of service, Jacob asked to be paid with every dark-coloured garment among the sheep and every spotted and dotted garment among the goats. Laban accepted and sent away from his sons all the leaders of that kind. So, Jacob took fresh branches of poplar, almond and plane tree, and flayed them, and put them in the troughs. The optical suggestion induced the goats and the sheep to conceive and give birth to dark, striped and dotted garments. He also ensured that all the strongest and healthiest leaders of the flock of Laban would drink near the barked branches, thus assuring a genetic superiority to his part of the flock. His flocks grew numerous and strong and he became richer than his relative, arousing envy. It was clear that Laban would not respect him much longer. At the suggestion of the Lord, Jacob decided to return to Canaan. Trying to avoid any possible dispute, he left with his family while Laban was absent for shearing sheep. But when, three days later, his uncle returned home, he became angry, feeling offended because Jacob had gone secretly and had not allowed him to greet his daughters and grandchildren. In addition, his teraphim, statuettes, or idols, which depicted the family deities, had disappeared. After 7 days of pursuit, Laban and his men reached Jacob’s group on Mount Gilead, in the mountainous region west of the Euphrates River, where his uncle and grandson had a stormy conversation. The younger man was outraged at being accused of stealing idols and told Labano to rummage through his family’s tents at will. Neither of them could know or even imagine that it was Rachel who took the idols and hid them in the saddle of the camel. During the search, she sat down firmly on the saddle, apologizing for not being able to get up, «because I usually have what happens to women» (Gen 31:35). So, the loot wasn’t discovered.
The airy and serene landscape frames a story with a happy ending: after a series of contrasts Jacob makes peace with his father-in-law Laban. A kid is about to be sacrificed to establish peace and the border between their respective riches: Jacob can separate from Laban and resume with his family the journey to his homeland.
The airy and serene landscape frames a story with a happy ending: after a series of contrasts Jacob makes peace with his father-in-law Laban. A kid is about to be sacrificed to establish peace and the border between their respective riches: Jacob can separate from Laban and resume with his family the journey to his homeland.
The subject, the alliance of Jacob and Laban, was much loved by collectors since the seventeenth century: the Barberini commissioned the painting to Pietro da Cortona, the great artist habitué of the palace, and later made a copy of it by his best student, Ciro Ferri, now on display at Galleria Corsini.
This version testifies to the luck of the subject and the desire of several nobles to own a version for their own home.

The canvas, in good condition, is very decorative and of particularly suitable dimensions to be exposed in any environment, facilitated by the vertical cut that makes it suitable for a corridor or an entrance hall, a study or a living room.