Thomas de Keyser (?Amsterdam 1596/7-1667)

According to the apocryphal story of his father Tobit, Tobias left home in search of a man who owed his dying father money. His hired companion, the Archangel Gabriel in disguise, leads Tobias to marry the pious Sara, who had previously suffered the loss of seven husbands to an evil curse. Following divine instruction, Gabriel also leads Tobias to recover the money stolen from his family, as well as to a cure for his father's blindness, both rewards for Tobit's piety. Tobias' parents, who had feared their son dead, are elated on his return, and overjoyed when he presents them both with the healing ointment he has discovered and the inheritance he has retrieved. When they attempt to share the riches with their son's mysterious companion, the Archangel reveals himself, and the family members fall to their knees in prayer.
This exceptional group portrait shows the moment just after this revelation, as Tobit, newly gifted with sight, his arms outspread in welcome, looks expectantly towards the arrival of his new daughter-in-law Sara. The central figure--whose wings identify him as the Archangel Gabriel--looks out boldly to meet the viewer's gaze, and may well have been responsible for the painting's commission, perhaps due to some connection his or his wife's name had to the story of Tobit. The work could also have been a highly unconventional marriage portrait. In either case, it belongs to the group of innovative, small-scale group portraits De Keyser painted in the early 1630s.