Tobias and the Angel

Largely self-taught, Decamps was celebrated for his imagination, freedom from academic constraints, and his highly personal technique. The story is from the biblical Book of Tobit: Tobias was sent on a long journey, his travelling companion an angel. Here, at the angel’s direction, he captures a strange fish with miraculous properties. The subject allowed Decamps to explore the landscape setting: shimmering with light, we sense the very air itself. This is a study made for a larger work, since lost.