Tobit Loses His Sight and Tobias Catches the Fish, Mortier Bible circa 1700

This original copper engraving from Pieter Mortier's illustrated Bible, published in Amsterdam circa 1700, shows two scenes from the Apocrypha on one sheet. The subjects are Tobit 2, old Tobit loses his sight, and Tobit 6, Tobias catches a great fish. It is plate 129 of the series, a fine example of Dutch Baroque biblical engraving with the upper and lower compositions each set in its own engraved frame.

The upper scene illustrates the Book of Tobit, chapter 2, verse 10, captioned D'Oude Tobias verliest het gezicht, old Tobit loses his sight. Tobit lies asleep against a ruined wall in a colonnaded courtyard as the droppings of sparrows nesting above fall into his eyes, while his wife Anna turns towards him and a dog stands by.

The lower scene takes Tobit chapter 6, verse 2, captioned Tobias vangt een groote Visch die op hem toeschoot, Tobias catches a great fish that leaps at him. By the river Tigris the young Tobias grips the fish while his companion, the angel Raphael in disguise, stands leaning on his staff, with a town on a crag and a bridge beyond.

This copper engraving comes from the illustrated Bible published in Amsterdam by Pieter Mortier around 1700, a landmark of Dutch Baroque book illustration that set more than four hundred biblical scenes before the reader. Each sheet pairs two episodes, framed like pictures on a wall and headed by engraved cartouches with the chapter and verse and captions in Dutch and French. No designer or engraver signature is present on this sheet; it carries the imprint P. Mortier edit. cum Privil. The project brought together many of the most accomplished artists in the Netherlands, among them Gerard Hoet, Arnold Houbraken and Bernard Picart, and its theatrical compositions and rich tonal engraving show Dutch Baroque printmaking at its most confident.

Printed on laid paper with full margins and a blank verso, the engraving is uncolored, as issued. Framed in a simple dark or gilt moulding with a generous mount, a Mortier Bible sheet makes a handsome feature in a study, reading room or place of worship, and collectors often build themed groups around a single book of the Bible or a favorite figure.

The sheet is in good condition for its age, with light toning, a faint corner stain and some chipping and fraying at the right edge; the image is clean and strong.