Description
Jacob Wrestling with the Angel is a late painting by Rembrandt from about 1659: a winged angel in a white robe, with a calm face, holds Jacob in his red garment, who clings to him with all his strength, while the angel’s hand rests on Jacob’s hip. The original, oil on canvas, is 137 cm high and 116 cm wide and belongs to the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin. We paint it by hand in oil on canvas in 8 portrait sizes, from 43 x 53 to 132 x 160 cm, or to your own measurement; before dispatch we send you a photograph of the finished painting.
| Title: | Jacob Wrestling with the Angel |
| Other titles: | Jakob ringt mit dem Engel · Jacob and the Angel |
| Painter: | Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669) |
| Year painted: | c. 1659, Amsterdam |
| Original size: | 137 cm x 116 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | Baroque, Dutch Golden Age |
| Located at: | Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Berlin (inv. 828) |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 8 sizes or made to measure |
Jacob Wrestling with the Angel – Rembrandt
What does Jacob Wrestling with the Angel show?
Against a brown, almost empty background two figures stand close together. The angel, with large grey-green wings and light curls, looks down, calm and almost tender, while Jacob in red has thrown his arms round the angel’s neck and rests his head on its chest.
With one arm the angel embraces Jacob over the shoulder, with the other hand it touches his hip. Rembrandt’s signature can be seen at the lower right.
What is the story behind the painting?
The story is in the Book of Genesis, chapter 32. At night by the river Jabbok, Jacob wrestled alone with a stranger until dawn; when the stranger could not overcome him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip and put it out of joint.
Jacob would not let him go until he had blessed him. The stranger gave him a new name, Israel, because he had struggled with God and with men and had prevailed.
What does the painting mean?
Rembrandt does not paint a wild fight but the moment when the struggle turns into an embrace. Jacob holds on to the angel like someone who will not let the blessing go, and the angel touches him without pushing him away.
That is why the painting speaks of perseverance through hard nights and of a faith that has to wrestle. People choose it for a room where they want to see every day that a struggle can end in a blessing.
Where is the original today?
In the Gemäldegalerie, the old masters gallery of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, under inventory number 828. It is painted in oil on canvas and measures 137 x 116 cm.
It dates from Rembrandt’s late years, when he painted broadly and with few colours: here the brown ground, Jacob’s red garment and the angel’s white robe dominate.
Jacob or another Rembrandt – which to choose?
Jacob Wrestling with the Angel suits a study, a bedroom or a place of quiet and prayer. If you are looking for a scene of embrace and forgiveness, there is The Return of the Prodigal Son; for a struggle with nature, The Storm on the Sea of Galilee.
A miracle in the dark is shown in The Raising of Lazarus, another Old Testament struggle in The Blinding of Samson. The Rembrandt page has every Old and New Testament story and the other famous Rembrandt paintings we paint.
How does our painter paint your Jacob?
This Rembrandt reproduction starts with two faces that must say different things: the angel’s calm, Jacob’s strained. The painter paints them first in oil on canvas, then the wings and the robes.
The background is laid in with broad, warm brown strokes, as in the original, and the white robe in thicker layers so that it catches the light. The result is an oil painting reproduction with a relief of paint that a printed sheet does not have.
Which size is right for your room?
In short: 43 x 53 or 49 x 60 cm for a bedside table, a shelf or a narrow wall, 64 x 76 or 72 x 85 cm above a bed or desk, 80 x 96 and 102 x 122 cm for the living room, and 120 x 140 and 132 x 160 cm for a large wall or a chapel.
All 8 sizes are portrait (width x height): 43 x 53, 49 x 60, 64 x 76, 72 x 85, 80 x 96, 102 x 122, 120 x 140 and 132 x 160 cm. The original is 116 cm wide and 137 cm high, so 120 x 140 cm is almost its size and 132 x 160 cm slightly larger. As a painting for the living room above a sideboard, 80 x 96 cm is a good choice.
Keep the faces at roughly eye level and the centre of the painting about 150 cm from the floor.
Is another size or a frame possible?
Yes. The original is roughly 5 : 6 in proportion; in that ratio the wings, both heads and the angel’s hand on the hip all stay. Write to us with your size and we will prepare a quote.
We send it rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or framed; every canvas painting is stretched and framed by our workshop in Slovenia. The 3D application lets you compare frames and nothing else; seeing the painting on your own wall is a separate service. Warm brown wood repeats the background, while an antique gold frame brings out the white robe and the red garment.
When will the painting be with me?
Because we start painting when you order, allow 15 to 45 working days. We send it customs-free to any EU country. You see the photograph of the finished painting before dispatch; whatever you would like different, we correct, and our returns policy applies to every order.
For a friend going through a hard time, a new name or a new beginning, the gift can also be a wall art voucher, so that they choose the size themselves.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the original Jacob Wrestling with the Angel?
In the Gemäldegalerie of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, inventory number 828.
Which story is the scene from?
From Genesis, chapter 32: Jacob wrestles all night with a stranger and receives the name Israel.
Why does the angel touch Jacob’s hip?
In the biblical story the stranger touched Jacob’s hip and put it out of joint, but Jacob did not let him go.
How big is the original?
It is 137 cm high and 116 cm wide. Our sizes run from 43 x 53 to 132 x 160 cm.
Is it a print?
No. It is a hand-painted copy; the painter paints it with a brush in oil on canvas.
Which size suits the wall above a bed?
Above a double bed choose 64 x 76 or 72 x 85 cm; above a wide bed 80 x 96 cm works too.
Does the painting make a good gift?
Yes, especially for someone going through a hard time, because it speaks of perseverance and blessing.
When was it painted?
In Rembrandt’s late years, around 1659.
- Subject: a winged angel with a calm face embraces Jacob, who clings to it and will not let go.
- Original: c. 1659, oil on canvas, 137 x 116 cm, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin.
- Ours: painted by hand in oil on canvas, in 8 portrait sizes from 43 x 53 to 132 x 160 cm or made to measure.
- Worth knowing: after this struggle Jacob was given the name Israel.
