Tobias and the Angel 1878

Jean-Charles Cazin made this painting, Tobias and the Angel, in oil on canvas. He worked with a deliberately limited palette of earthy tones; ochres, browns, and greens, applied with loose brushwork. The result is a dreamlike scene, but also one intimately bound to the earth. Cazin was from a family of ceramicists, so it is perhaps not surprising that his application of oil paint mimics the matte surface of glazed earthenware. The painting depicts a scene from the Book of Tobit, where the Archangel Raphael guides Tobias on his journey. The subdued colors and hazy atmosphere invite contemplation on themes of faith, companionship, and the beauty of the natural world. The brushstrokes are blurred as if the artist were trying to capture an ethereal and heavenly world with material means and techniques derived from pottery. Cazin's artistic choices invite us to consider how materials, process, and context intertwine, and the distinction between fine art and craft begins to blur.