Titian
Tobias and the Archangel Raphael

Circa 1508
Accademia Gallery, Venice, Italy

This painting has served as a model for many images of generic "guardian angels" (example), but it can be distinguished from them by the presence of details specific to the story in the Book of Tobit, in this case the dog at left and the fish in Tobias's left hand. In the story, the dog accompanies Raphael and Tobias on their journey to Media. Along the way, Raphael has the young Tobias catch a fish whose innards will later cure his father's blindness.

Tobias is often pictured as a mere boy, perhaps to emphasize that he is under the angel's tutelage. In the story, however, he is of marriageable age and along the way he meets a relative whose daughter he takes for his wife.

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Photographed at the site by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.