(Mechelen 1534–1593 Amsterdam)
A rocky landscape with the Return of Jacob from Canaan,
signed and dated lower left: H Bol/159(3),
oil on panel, 16.2 x 23.5 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private collection, Brussels;
with David Koetser, London (1989);
Weldon collection, New York;
sale, Sotheby’s, New York, 22 April 2015, lot 25

Literature:
J. Briels, Peinters flamands au berceau du Siècle d’Or hollandais: 1585–1630, Antwerp 1997, p. 209 and p. 301, reproduced p. 208 and p.301

The present panel, exhibiting a mastery of working on a cabinet-scale that was praised by Karel van Mander, is a fine example of the oeuvre of Hans Bol. Depicted with exquisite detail, the skilfull composition is anchored by the tree and the figural group comprising Jacob and the shepherds in the foreground, with Rachel approaching, while a river valley gently meanders into the distance. The episode is taken from the Book of Genesis, of the Return of Jacob from Canaan.

A late and refined practitioner of the Nothern Mannerist style, Bol has chosen to set the Old Testament story before contemporary buildings with elegant spires, while the serpentine tree trunks and multiplicity of small sheep dotted about the compositon add to its meticulously rendered vibrancy. The shepherds are awaiting the turbaned Jacob’s removal of the stone from their well, while the robed and beautiful daughter of Laban arrives, a train of camels behind her.

Bol also treated this subject in a similar small format and related narrative composition in other works. One is now conserved in the Städel Museum, Frankfurt, also dated 1593, and one of a pair, dated 1592 (sale, Sotheby’s, Amsterdam, 7 May 2008, lot 1).