Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione: The Oath of Abraham’s Servant (1650-1659)


(Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, USA)

A painting by the Italian artist Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (1609-1664). This piece probably depicts a scene from the old Testament. In the story Abraham secures a pledge from his servant to find a wife for Abraham’s son Isaac: "He said to the senior servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh. I want you to swearby the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac."......"So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter." (Genesis 24:2-9). Painting from 1650-1659.