The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Laban Searching for his Stolen Household Gods

c. 1665–1670

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

(Spanish, 1617–1682)

Spain, 17th century

oil on canvas

Framed: 278 x 398 x 14 cm (109 7/16 x 156 11/16 x 5 1/2 in.); Unframed: 243 x 362 cm (95 11/16 x 142 1/2 in.)

Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1965.469

Location: 212 Baroque Painting and Sculpture

Description

This story comes from the Old Testament book of Genesis and stresses the value of reconciliation. Jacob lived with his uncle Laban for years, marrying Laban’s daughters Rachel and Leah. When the relationship between the men soured, Jacob and his family departed, while Rachel secretly stole her father’s household gods. When Laban discovered that the statues were missing, he pursued Jacob, accusing him of theft. Here, Jacob invites Laban to search his tent, while Rachel sits on the saddlebag containing the statues. After coming up empty-handed, Laban proposes a truce, ending the squabble.

1965-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
Until 1965
(Wildenstein & Co., New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
by 1931
Carlos Guinle [1889-1956], Rio de Janeiro
by 1926
Jacques Barou de la Lombardière de Canson [d. 1958], Paris
1924-
Hibbard1
1924
(Christie, Manson, and Woods, London, sale, July 4, 1924, no. 21, sold to Hibbard)
By 1907-1924
Hugh Richard Arthur Grosvenor, second Duke of Westminster [1879 –1953]
Possibly until 1899
Hugh Grosvenor, Marquis of Westminster [1825-1899], Grosvenor House, London, to his grandson, Hugh Richard Arthur Grosvenor
After 1809
Possibly Robert Grosvenor, Marquis of Westminster [1767-1845]1
Marquis of Santiago, Santiago Palace, Madrid, sold to William Buchanan and W.G. Coesvelt through G. Augustus Wallis
c. 1808-1809
(William Buchanan and W.G. Coesvelt, London, acquired in Spain through Buchanan’s agent, G. Augustus Wallis), sold to the Marquis of Westminster)1
by 1775-1808
Marquis of Villamanrique, MadMarquis of Santiago, Santiago Palace, Madrid, sold to William Buchanan and W.G. Coesvelt through G. Augustus Wallisrid1
1665-
Marquis of Villamanrique, Seville
Provenance Footnotes
1 1 Several copies of the 1924 Christie's sale catalogue have handwritten notations indicating "Hibbard" that Hibbard was the buyer of this painting. Hibbard's first name has not been identified, but a collector by the name of "Hibbard" does appear in several other auction catalogues, as well as in the provenances of several paintings currently in museum collections.
2 1The painting appears in "A Catalogue of Pictures at Grosvenor House," published in 1921; therefore, it must have been in the Grosvenor family at least by that point, if not yet in the possession of Hugh Grosvenor. Hugh's father, Richard, was born in 1795, and thus would not have purchased the painting from Buchanan c. 1809, but Hugh's grandfather, Robert [1767-1845] may have been the purchaser.
3 1 There is no documentation confirming that Robert Grosvenor owned this painting. However, it was in the collection of Grosvenor House by 1821, and neither Hugh Grosvenor nor his father, Richard, could have purchased the painting from William Buchanan c. 1809.
4 1 The Marquis of Westminster purchased the painting in exchange for two Lorrains, a Poussin, and 1200 livres.
5 1 Probably Ventura Osorio de Moscoso y Fernández de Córdoba, VIII Marqués de Villamanrique, who died in 1776.
6 The Marquis of Villamanrique, probably Manuel Luis de Guzmán y Manrique de Zúñiga, IV Marqués de Villamanrique (d. 1692) commissioned this painting from Murillo. The painting then passed down through the family, likely following this line of descent: Melchor de Guzmán Osorio Davila Manrique de Zuñiga, V Marqués de Villamanrique (d. 1710); Ana Nicolasa de Guzmán Osorio Dávila y Manrique de Zúñiga, VI Marquesa de Villamanrique (d. 1762); Ventura Antonio Osorio de Moscoso y Guzmán Dávila y Aragón, VII Marqués de Villamanrique, (d. 1746); Ventura Osorio de Moscoso y Fernández de Córdoba, VIII Marqués de Villamanrique (d. 1776).
Valdivieso, Enrique. Murillo: catálogo razonado de pinturas. Madrid: Ediciones El Viso, 2010.
Esteban, Claude, and Juan Antonio Gaya Nuño. Tout l'œuvre peint de Murillo. Paris: Flammarion, 1980.
Angulo Iñiguez, Diego. Murillo. Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, 1981.
Angulo Iñiguez, Diego. Murillo. Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, 1981.
Christie, Manson & Woods. Pictures by Old Masters of the Italian and Flemish Schools. July 4, 1924.
Young, John, and Robert Grosvenor Westminster. A Catalogue of the Pictures at Grosvenor House, London: With Etchings from the Whole Collection. Executed by Permission of the Noble Proprietor and Accompanied by Historical Notices of the Principal Works. London: Printed by W. Bulmer and W. Nicol, Cleveland-Row, St. James's. Published by the Proprietor, No. 65, Upper Charlotte-Street, Fitzroy-Square, 1821.
null
Buchanan, William. Memoirs of Painting: With a Chronological History of the Importation of Pictures by the Great Masters into England Since the French Revolution. London: Printed for R. Ackerman, 1824.
Curtis, Charles Boyd. Velazquez and Murillo; A Descriptive and Historical Catalogue of the Works of Don Diego De Silva Velazquez and Bartolomé Estéban Murillo. London: S. Low, Marston, Searle, and Rivington, 1883.
Esteban, Claude, and Juan Antonio Gaya Nuño. Tout l'œuvre peint de Murillo. Paris: Flammarion, 1980.
Mary Crawford Volk, letter to Alan Chong, Aug. 12, 1992, in CMA curatorial file.
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 131 archive.org
Cleveland Museum of Art, and Frank Chalton Francis. Fiftieth Anniversary Banquet: The Cleveland Museum of Art, the Sheraton-Cleveland Hotel, June 13, 1966. [Cleveland]: [The Museum], 1966. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 10-11 archive.org
Stechow, Wolfgang. "Cleveland's Golden Anniversary Acquisitions." Artnews 65, no. 5 (September 1966): 30-64. Reproduced: p. 40: Mentioned: p. 43
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 131 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 150 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Catalogue of Paintings, Part 3: European Paintings of the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1982. Mentioned: p. 502-504; Reproduced: p. 503
Roglán, Mark A. Spanish Art in America. [Madrid, Spain]: Ediciones El Viso, 2016. Reproduced: p. 72, 78
Cleveland Museum of Art. Masterworks on Loan: Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Cleveland Museum of Art: April through June 2016. [Cleveland]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2016. p. 29-30
Fort Worth, TX: Kimbell Art Museum (3/10-6/16/02); Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles County Museum of Art (7/14-10/6/02) "Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617-1682): Paintings from American Collections" exh. cat. no. 14, p. 137, no color repr.
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo: Paintings from American Collections. Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX (organizer) (March 10-June 16, 2002); Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA (July 14-October 6, 2002).
Murillo. Royal Academy of Arts, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (organizer) (January 15-March 27, 1983); Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain (October 8-December 12, 1983).
Royal Academy 1/3/83.
Golden Anniversary of Acquisitions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 10-October 16, 1966).
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Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1965.469