2-743-822 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

The Departure of Jacob, c. 1755. Among the many subjects Boucher helped popularize were romantic, idealized pastoral scenes. Although he depicted relatively few religious narratives, this drawing may illustrate the Old Testament story in which Jacob travels to Canaan with his family. Set against a limited colour palette of browns, reds, and black, the family basks in the dappled sunlight that sweetly illuminates the mother and her baby as they rest beneath a palm tree.