Grey-bearded, his head resting on his hand, he looks up.
Bible in art · 1 Kings
Elijah Fed by the Raven
Savoldo · c. 1510
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Giovanni Girolamo Savoldo, a painter from Brescia who worked in Venice, painted this picture about 1510 on a wooden panel; it was later moved onto canvas.
Elijah sits at the mouth of a rocky cave, his head on his hand, looking up. In the tree above, a raven brings a loaf of bread. Far off in the sky, in a bright cloud, Savoldo adds a later scene: the chariot of fire.
From the text
- Elijah hiding by the Brook of Cherith (1 Kings 17:3–5)
- The ravens bringing him bread and meat (1 Kings 17:6)
- A chariot of fire with horses of fire (2 Kings 2:11)
The artist’s own
- One raven instead of ravens, with a single round loaf
- A fur-lined pink cloak over a blue robe — the text calls Elijah “a hairy man” (2 Kings 1:8)
- A later moment of his story painted small in the sky
Details
Elijah
The raven
A black raven on a dead branch, a loaf in its beak.
The chariot of fire
In a bright cloud, a small chariot pulled by red horses.
By the river
Tiny figures stand on the bank of a river.
Bare feet
His bare feet rest on the rock below the long blue robe.
Giovanni Girolamo Savoldo, Brescian, c. 1480–1548 or after. National Gallery of Art, Washington (Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1961.9.35) · Oil on panel transferred to canvas · NGA Open Access: "Images of these works are available free of charge for any use, commercial or non-commercial, under Creative Commons Zero (CC0)." (NGA open data: published_images.csv openaccess = 1)