Italian school; second third of the XVII century.

Italian school; second third of the 17th century.
"The Healing of Tobias".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
Presents restorations.
Measurements: 117, 5 x 107 cm; 130 x 118 cm (frame).
This canvas illustrates the moment in which Tobias, following the indications of the Archangel Raphael, anoints with the gall of the fish the eyes of his father to cure his blindness. The pictorial treatment of this work allows it to be included in the Italian school of the last third of the 17th century. The realism of the figures, the color palette and the dramatic lighting bring us closer to the features of the aforementioned school. Abandoning the theatricality and artifice of the Baroque, the work focuses on a nuanced scene where realism has a great pictorial weight. Faced with the exuberant and elegant line, of virtuous and elaborate execution, at the beginning of the 18th century a general reaction was unleashed, affirmed in compositional austerity and operational sobriety. Thus, as opposed to the eagerness for virtuosity of the previous century, the artists recovered the previous models in a more sober and solid manner, focusing on the characterization of the characters, although in this case the body maintains characteristics typical of Michelangelo's influence, with that excessive volumetry.
One of the most represented themes in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries is the healing of Tobias. Based on the biblical text of the same name that describes the illness suffered by his father, Tobit, during the exile to Babylon: "I did not know that up on the wall there were sparrows; suddenly, their hot dung fell on my eyes, producing white spots. I had physicians treat me, but the more remedies they gave me, the less I could see because of the spots, until I became completely blind (Tobit 2:10)". The spots described in the text may correspond to the exudate of a purulent conjutivitis, the most frequent cause being an infection produced by Chlamydia trachomatis. In the same story, the archangel Saint Raphael tells Tobias the remedy he should use to help his father recover his sight: "anoint his eyes with the fish gall; the remedy will make the white spots contract and detach from his eyes. Thus your father will regain his sight and see the light (Tobit 11:8)".
This type of infections, endemic in this area, were treated with irritating substances, being used this type of treatments until the middle of the 20th century, when the causative agent of the disease and antibiotics were discovered.