Gaspard Dughet, 'Landscape with Elijah and the Angel', about 1663

In the wilderness a winged angel has appeared to Elijah (1 Kings 19: 5–11), who was banished from Israel by Jezebel for defending God against the worship of the pagan deity Baal. Having travelled across the desert Elijah is close to death. He sits under a tree and the angel brings him food and water, although these items are not shown.

Here, the angel points towards Mount Horeb with one hand and towards Elijah with the other, encouraging him to venture to the mountain in the distance. Elijah gestures towards God, sitting in the clouds above them, who with an outstretched arm directs a lightning bolt towards the mountain and causes a great storm. The town nestling the hills in the distance is probably Beersheba, where Elijah stopped before his journey to the mountain.

The painting was once simply called The Storm; its subject was unclear to viewers even during Dughet’s lifetime. The figure of Elijah has been mistaken at various times for different biblical characters. However, the vast rural setting of this scene with no one else in view, and the fact that the man is bearded and elderly, suggests that he is Elijah, and that the current interpretation is correct.

A bright heavenly light shines onto the angel’s face and illuminates its white robe, which moves gracefully in the wind. Dark and imposing clouds give way to a brighter sky in the distance. The Bible mentions the powerful wind created by the storm, and Dughet has shown branches and foliage bending in the tempest, while a large branch has fallen into the path just behind the figures. The storm’s destruction is also visible in the centre of the painting as a branch is torn away from the tree trunk.

A glistening waterfall spills over the rocks into the valley below. The foreground trees frame the scene and the variety of details in the background lead our eyes back and forth across the composition.