Abramo e i tre angeli

Rembrandt painted this in 1646 on a panel smaller than a sheet of writing paper, under nine inches across. It shows a moment from the book of Genesis. The elderly Abraham serves a meal to three travellers who are really messengers from God, come to tell him that his wife Sarah, long past the age of children, will bear a son. Rembrandt catches the visitors mid-change, from men into angels. One still looks like a dusty traveller with his wings folded behind him. Another lifts his wings while he eats. The figure at the centre glows, already more light than flesh. Rembrandt collected Indian Mughal miniatures, and the tight, ceremonial grouping here seems to borrow from one. The little panel has stayed in private hands and is seldom shown.