The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

The Angels Appearing to Abraham

The Angels Appearing to Abraham

1750s
(Italian, 1712–1793)
Framed: 71 x 90.5 x 7 cm (27 15/16 x 35 5/8 x 2 3/4 in.); Unframed: 56.5 x 75.5 cm (22 1/4 x 29 3/4 in.)
Location: not on view

Description

After their initial meeting, Abraham graciously offered to feed the angels and wash their feet. Following the meal, they announce that his wife Sarah, long past child-bearing age, will soon have a son, fulfilling a promise God had made earlier to Abraham. The artist presents the moment of revelation, the angels resplendent in their pastel gowns and feathery wings, with Sarah learning the news while hiding behind their cottage door.
  • Until 1800
    Possibly Federigo Giovanelli, Venice
    ?
    Baroness Valerie Groedel, Budapest
    By 1933?
    (Neumann Gallery, Vienna)
    1952
    (Francesco Pospisil, Venice, sold through Alessandro Brass to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1952-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
  • Binion, Alice. Antonio and Francesco Guardi, Their Life and Milieu: With a Catalogue of Their Figure Drawings. New York: Garland Pub, 1976.
    Pallucchini, Rodolfo. L'arte di Giovanni Battista Piazzetta. Bologna: Giuseppe Maylender, editore, 1934.
    Levey, Michael. The Eighteenth-Century Italian Schools. London: Publications Dept., National Gallery, 1956.
    Morassi, Antonio. Guardi. Antonio e Francesco Guardi. Venezia: Alfieri, 1973.
    Alessandro Brass, letter to Henry S. Francis, Aug. 15, 1952, in CMA curatorial file
    Nancy Coe Wixom, letter to Alessandro Bettagno, Oct. 22, 1969, in CMA curatorial file
    Alessandro Brass, letter to Henry S. Francis, Aug. 15, 1952, in CMA curatorial file
    Antonio Morassi, letter to Neumann, Nov. 24, 1937, in CMA curatorial file.
    Nancy Coe Wixom, letter to Alessandro Bettagno, Oct. 22, 1969, in CMA curatorial file.
    Morassi, Antonio, “A Signed Drawing by Antonio Guardi and the Problem of the Guardi Brothers,” Burlington Magazine 95 (August 1953): 267.
    Morassi, Antonio. Guardi. Antonio e Francesco Guardi. Venezia: Alfieri, 1973.
    Alessandro Brass, letter to Henry S. Francis, March 29, 1952, in CMA curatorial file.
    Alessandro Brass, invoice, July 5, 1952, in CMA curatorial file.
    Morassi, Antonio. Guardi. Antonio e Francesco Guardi. Venezia: Alfieri, 1973.
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 145 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 145 archive.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art. Catalogue of Paintings. Pt. 3. European Paintings of the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1974. Reproduced: cat. 159C, p. 360 - 363
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 143 archive.org
  • The Allure of La Serenissima: Eighteenth-Century Venetian Art. Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Oklahoma City, OK (organizer) (September 9, 2010-January 2, 2011).
    Oklahoma City Museum of Art (9/9/2010 - 1/2/2011): "The Allure of La Serenissima: Eighteenth-Century Venetian Art", cat. no. 6, p. 54.
  • {{cite web|title=The Angels Appearing to Abraham|url=false|author=Francesco Guardi|year=1750s|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1952.235.3