This picture captures a pivotal moment in a story taken from the Book of Genesis (24). Abraham had sent a servant to his homeland to find a bride for his son, Isaac. The servant came to a well, and waited for a woman kind enough to provide both him and his 10 camels with water: this woman would be the perfect bride for Isaac.
In the painting, an elegantly dressed woman looks calmly at the servant, her hand resting on a water pitcher – she seems only a little surprised at his request. This is Rebecca, Isaac’s future wife, who drew water for the servant and all of his animals. The servant offers her several pieces of jewellery as a reward for her kindness, which spill out of the open box in front of him. Pellegrini has emphasised Rebecca’s luminous, pale skin and the golden curls of her hair, which contrast with the tanned complexion of the balding servant.
Pellegrini’s characteristic use of long, energetic brushstrokes and his confident application of paint can be appreciated in the bunched-up folds of Rebecca’s blue dress and cream bodice and in the servant’s deep red drapery, which add a vibrancy and rich texture to the scene. The handle of the pitcher has been described in just a few strokes, and the stone face in the bottom-right corner built up in loosely applied paint. The woman and the hairy camels just behind the main figures are also painted with freely applied strokes of paint, but in slightly paler tones and in thinner layers, giving the impression that they are further away. Thinner still are the layers of paint that describe the pinkish cloudy sky.
Pellegrini, the brother-in-law of Venetian portraitist Rosalba Carriera, travelled to England in 1708 and established himself as one of the most sought-after decorative painters in Europe. He stayed for five years and this picture was probably painted during that time. Shortly after he travelled to Düsseldorf where he was commissioned to produce a series of large decorative paintings. A preliminary sketch for one of them is in the National Gallery’s collection: An Allegory of the Marriage of the Elector Palatine.
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