Biblical themes, both from the Old and New Testament, were repeatedly explored by European artists, including painters, sculptors, and composers. At the beginning of the 20th century, paintings became one of the many motifs depicted on postcards. In the collection of Judaica at the District Museum in Leszno, there is a postcard featuring a reproduction of the painting Rebecca et Eliézer by the French painter Alexandre Cabanel (1823-1889). The painting is inspired by the story from the Book of Genesis about Eliezer, a servant whom Abraham sent to Mesopotamia to find a wife for his son Isaac.
Eliezer embarks on a journey and arrives at the city of Aram-Naharaim, where he stops near a well. The left side of the painting depicts beautiful Rebecca pouring water from a large jug into a stone trough, from which the camels drink. She is dressed in a light, loose gown and a turban, and the jug rests on her right knee. On the right side, Eliezer is sitting on the ground, observing her work. He wears adorned oriental garments, with a traveler's cloak on his shoulders, a short sword at his waist, sandals on his feet, and a turban on his head. By the well, there are camels and people guarding them and women coming with jugs to draw water. The scene takes place in a desert landscape, with a solitary palm tree and a stone building in the distance on a hill.
Below the reproduction on the left side, the artist's name and the title of the painting are printed in German: "A. Cabanel Rebecca et Eliézer". The same information is repeated on the right side in Hebrew. In the middle, there is an imprint with the name of the publisher in Hebrew "Lewanon" and the number "No 86". On the reverse side, at the top edge, the designation "Postcard" is printed in Russian (in cyrillic script), German, French, and Hebrew. At the bottom edge, there is a round stamp – the publisher's logo.
Alexandre Cabanel was one of the main representatives of academic eclecticism in 19th-century French painting. He painted works with religious and mythological themes, genre scenes, and historical scenes. Since 1864, he was a professor at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris (https://encyklopedia.pwn.pl/haslo/Cabanel-Alexandre;3882583.html, accessed on 9 April 2021).
The postcard was purchased for the collection of the District Museum in Leszno in 2012 from from Marta Pogoreło of Leszno.
Dariusz Czwojdrak
