Jan Steen – The Wedding Night of Tobias and Sarah

In yet another subject by Jan Steen, he tells the Apocryphal story of Tobias and Sarah. Having found each of her seven previous bridegrooms dead on their wedding night, Sarah was naturally anxious when she married Tobias. Here they are praying together. Eventually, Tobias and the Archangel Rafael - to the right in the picture - slaughter the evil dragon that had caused all the misery.

If you look closely, in raking light, you can see the painting was once divided in two. This was probably done to increase its value. The dragon was not particularly pleasant, so the owners decided to sell that section separately. That was the section which Bredius bought. Typical for him, to buy a great painting with an unattractive subject. The more pleasing section was owned by the Dutch state and in 1996 it was decided to reconnect the two halves. A detailed account of the painting’s restoration is available at the entrance.