Eliezer and Rebecca

Nicolas Poussin got his inspiration for painting this masterpiece from the biblical story of when Eliezer, a servant of Abraham, was sent by his master to get Isaac, Abraham’s son, a suitable wife with Mesopotamian origin. Eliezer is seen in the Painting together with Rebecca.

Rebecca was chosen to be Isaac's wife for her grace and poised nature as she decided to help Eliezer with water. There have been sharp criticisms from Champaigne for not including the camels that Rebecca also fetched water for them to drink. This particular painting is regarded as one of his exquisite masterpieces. One can definitely draw his belief systems and who exactly inspired by this oil painting.

In this painting Eliezer is giving Rebecca jewels after he had asked for her hand in marriage on behalf of Isaac while also a group of women is watching with different facial expressions, Unlike other women, Rebecca chose to help Eliezer which was what inspired Eliezer to choose her as a wife. This painting in the year 1648 yet is still alive. As mentioned earlier, this oil on canvas painting showcased the style which Nicolas mostly preferred which was French classicism. He is also known for depicting religious art and wanting people to draw some psychological meaning from his paintings. A theme that is quite evident in this painting is grace. Rebecca showed Eliezer grace which was such an attractive quality.

Contrary to popular belief, this painting was also about showcasing the different types of beauty showed by other women in the painting. We can also get the various types of emotions shown in the painting depicted by the twelve women who had accompanied Rebecca as she was the one who was chosen. There is great dynamism in this art piece and none of them has been cut off which is quite impressive. One can also begin to understand why Nicolas chose not to paint the camels as Eliezer was entering into the female's world while managing to capture the innocence of Rebecca.

It was painted by Poussin for his friend who wanted a painting that could rival the Virgin Sewing which was painted by Guido Reni. Gratitude is also depicted in this painting as Rebecca was grateful when Eliezer gave her the jewels that would signify she was engaged to Isaac. The Greek and Roman style of art inspired this painting as there is a frieze showcased in this painting. Nicolas was well acquainted with ancient reliefs as we see the different poses and facial expressions expressed by the other women. The well blended colours have managed to distinguish the different characters in the painting while still being able to oppose elegantly the calm landscape found at the background.

It is often said that Poussin carefully planned his painting as he put emphasis on the lines and contours of his painting and one can definitely see this from the painting. Many Baroque painters would criticize his painting as cold yet many revered his work as being different and orderly. He was greatly inspired by Cassiano Del Pozzo. The warm bright and contrasting colours depicted in the painting were Ecole de Fontainebleau and Giulio Romano as they enjoyed Mannerist form of painting.