Oil on canvas, 112cm by 150.5cm.
The Book of Genesis tells of Rebecca, chosen by Eliezer as a suitable wife for his master Abraham’s son Isaac, after she had displayed kindness in drawing water from a well that he and his camels might drink their fill, and upon which he gave her a golden nose ring and bracelets.
Cavedoni, who came from Modena, worked in Rome under Guido Reni for a year, before becoming one of Ludovico Carracci’s main assistants. This painting was bought by the 9th Earl of Exeter from the Barberini Palace in Rome as by Agostino Carracci.
