Follower of Bartolomé Esteban Murillo; 20th century.

Follower of BARLOLOMÉ ESTEBAN MURILLO (Seville, 1617 - 1682); 20th century.
"Rebecca in the well".
Oil on panel.
Measurements: 20 x 40,5 cm.
In this painting of Sevillian school of nineteenth-century period, the author reproduces the Murillo painting "Rebecca and Eliezer" (1660, preserved in the Prado Museum), remaining faithful to the original. The work shows Rebecca, the future wife of the Hebrew patriarch Isaac, conversing by the well with Eliezer, who was a servant of her future father-in-law Abraham, next to the well. It is a biblical passage frequently depicted in 17th century European painting. Murillo's version, as usual in the Sevillian master, has the peculiarity of placing us before a typical Andalusian scene. Rebeca and her neighbors look like girls from the neighborhood of Triana or any Andalusian village of their time, gathered with their pitchers around the fountain. Except for the clothing, the scenery would be common to any area of Spain.
The painting narrates an episode from Genesis (24: 18-20), concerning the choice of a wife for Isaac. When his days were coming to an end, Abraham began to think about finding a wife for his son. He did not want him to marry a woman from Canaan, the land where they lived, but from Ur, where he was born. So Abraham called one of his servants, Eliezer, and told him that God would help him find a wife for Isaac from among the relatives who lived in his homeland of Mesopotamia. The servant set out, and when he reached the gates of the city where Nahor, Abraham's brother, lived, he let his camels rest near a well. There he prayed to God, "Yahweh, God of my master Abraham, meet me today, and show yourself kind to my master Abraham. I will stand by the well of water while the women of the city come to fetch water; the young woman to whom I say, I pray you, tip your pitcher, that I may drink, and she says to me, 'You drink, and I will give your camels drink also,' be she whom you intend for your servant Isaac." Before he finishes speaking, Rebekah, the young virgin granddaughter of Nahor, appears and goes to fill her pitcher with water. Eliezer asks her for some water from her pitcher, and she also offers to water his camels. The servant then offers her a ring and two gold bracelets, and asks her who she is and if she can stay overnight in her father's house, to which she agrees. Eliezer tells her whole story point by point, and the family agrees to let Rebekah go to Abraham's house and marry Isaac.